Old Enemies and New Friends
by InfamousVenous
Summary: Frisk had finally done it. The barrier was destroyed. Everything had turned out alright, for a change. However, Frisk's adventure was far from over. There was one last thing Frisk needed to do before they left the Underground. They were filled with... Determination. (I'm terrible with summaries)
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own Undertale or any characters or ideas created by Toby Fox and their associates.**_

…

 _ **Now, with that out if the way, I would like to apologize for my absence as of late. Most of it was just depression, and schoolwork getting in the way. Sorry about that.**_

 _ **Ugh. You have no idea how badly I wanted to get this out of my system. I've had writers block like crazy, and finally writing again is great! WRITING IS MY DRUG I'M PROUD OF IT DON'T JUDGE ME!**_

 _ **Also, writing gender neutral characters is weird. I subconsciously refer to Frisk as a she. I discovered this while typing the beginning of the story, and found that I accidentally wrote "she" a lot, instead of "they." Weird…**_

 _ **Listening to the Undertale OST while writing a story… it fills you with Determination.**_

 _ **Oh god! I bought the soundtrack/game bundle, and was listening to the music. I was writing one of the "day mare's" and the song "His Theme" began playing. The person I was writing about at the time was Flowey…**_

 _ **Holy crap… Writing the part near the end of the chapter, yet at the beginning of the underground… With the royally screwed over character… Yeah…**_ **Him…** _ **I cried...**_

 _ **WARNING!**_

 _ **This story will contain spoilers about the game Undertale. Please do not read unless you have played the game… Or don't listen and read anyways, forcing yourself to look up random things about a game and miss out on a wonderful experience.**_

 _ **Also, feelings… (To be honest, I cried a little at the ending of the True Pacifist end. It was so happy/sad!)**_

 _ **By the way, I recommend listening to the song "Reunited" by Toby Fox while reading most of this chapter. Once you're near the ending when Frisk meets… That character… I recommend changing the song to "Memories" or "His Theme"**_

 _ **Anyways, enjoy.**_

 _ **(also, maybe pay special attention to the words during the day mare…)**_

 **One Last Soul to Save**

Frisk stood in front of all their friends, a small smile tugging at their lips.

They had done it.

The barrier trapping all monsters underground had been shattered. The age old curse had been broken… But at what price?

Frisk looked around the grey, dusty smelling chamber. To the right was a door way, with a light breeze fluttering through. Behind them was the path back through the castle and to the more wild parts of the underground.

And in front of them?

All of Frisk's friends.

Undyne, the blue, scaly, fish like head of the Royal Guard who, after a brief (and incredibly violent) pasta making lesson became Frisk's best friend, or "besties" as she called the two of them. She was loving and tough, ensuring that no one would be harmed under her watch… Unless it was her doing the hurting, such as suplexing an innocent boulder to show off. She was very… Passionate… About things she liked.

Alphys, the yellow scaled Royal Scientist. Incredibly smart, but extremely lacked self confidence. She was always second guessing herself, and trying to hide away from people's attention. However, whenever she became really invested in something, it was like she was another person all together. As long as Frisk didn't ask her about Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, they should be fine. She had a secret lab detailing her experiments with Determination, a force that allowed souls to persist after death… Perhaps some things were best left alone for now.

Asgore, the king of the Underground. Frisk hadn't really gotten to know him in the brief time he was trying to kill them, but from what everyone had been saying about him, he seemed to be extremely friendly. He seemed reluctant to fight Frisk when they had met. Asgore resembled a goat, with his long floppy ears and horns.

Papyrus, the overzealous skeleton with a big heart (figuratively speaking). He was rather tall, and usually only wore his "battle body" as he had named it, which was just a costume for a party he and his brother had made several weeks ago. Papyrus seemed to lack an inside voice, and would become anyone's best friend the moment they mentioned Junior Jumble and spaghetti.

Sans was the brother of Papyrus. He was a shorter skeleton, constantly wearing a light blue sweater and slippers. Sans loves to make terrible jokes and puns, all of which Papyrus despised. Though Frisk had never seen Sans attack, or even hurt anyone for that matter, Sans occasionally looked at Frisk as if remembering something they had done, sending shivers down Frisk's back. He was lazy, and would expend so much energy being lazy, it was almost ironic. He seemed to appear randomly, claiming his quick traveling to his "shortcuts."

And finally, Toriel. She had come to Frisk's rescue after being deceived by Flowey the Flower, a not-so-evil being. Toriel was extremely motherly, and caring. More than Frisk's parents could ever be… Toriel had immediately showed Frisk how the Underground worked, and taught them valuable lessons that had helped them survive the trip to this room everyone was currently standing in. Toriel also seemed to be goat-like, with long, floppy ears and small horns adorning her head. From what Frisk had learned, she had been Asgore's wife, and the Queen of the Underground; nose nuzzling champions before they had broken up.

Frisk stood there, tears threatening their eyes as they looked at their friends in admiration. Frisk could see the worry in their eyes as they looked back at them, but they remained strong for Frisk. Asgore glanced wistfully at the archway leading towards the surface, before turning back to them.

Frisks friends began conversing with one another, some introducing themselves for a second time since their memories had been wiped of the last hour or so. A few truly happy laughs were given when the realization that everyone in the Underground was free finally surfaced.

No more fake stars on a cavern roof.

No more hopelessness of being trapped forever.

No more waiting in hopes that a human will never fall into the Underground.

For once they could finally see the stars again. Feel the grass under their feet and the sun on their face.

Yet…

Something was missing.

Some _one_.

Frisk needed to see one more person before they could leave. Frisk approached Toriel timidly, feeling bad for asking them to wait a little while longer. Frisk tugged on Toriel's sleeve, making her kneel down to Frisk's height. Frisk quietly explained that they needed to tell someone goodbye before they could leave, and apologized in advance.

"Do not worry, my child." Toriel soothed, a motherly smile easing Frisk's guilt. "We will wait for you to return before we ascend to the surface." Toriel gave Frisk a warm, fluffy hug, before standing up and sending Frisk on their way back through the castle.

Frisk took a couple steps back, turning to give a quick wave to their friends and semi-acquaintance. A chorus of "goodbyes" and "good lucks" was given to Frisk.

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL MISS MY COOL FRIEND UNTIL THEY RETURN!" Papyrus shouted, echoing around the room.

"keep an eye socket out, kiddo." Sans smiled, giving a quick wink.

"Stay safe, little one." Asgore rumbled, a small frown of concern showing.

"Human! Call Papyrus and I if you need help!" Undyne exclaimed, flashing a bright grin. "That's what friends are for!"

"I-I will make sure t-to monitor your progress j-just in case something h-happens." Alphys stuttered quietly, nervously wringing her hands.

"Please be cautious, my child." Toriel gave the warmest smile, and a slight wave.

Frisk realized that all of their friends really cared about them. Not like those in Frisk's life who had lied about caring. Why had they even wanted to return to the surface?

Frisk shooed such thoughts from their mind, and set off down the castle once more, casting a final glance behind them before rounding the corner, a small smile plastered to their face.

Knowing that Frisk's friends would keep their word… It filled them with determination. They felt a surge of power rise up in them, and a small magical text appeared in front of them, asking if they would like to save.

 _Save_

A small flash of energy filled their vision, and a tether tying them to this point and time appeared in the back of their mind.

 **~{o}~{o}~**

Frisk hadn't really played around with their new found abilities, they mused while walking towards the elevator. It was intimating to Frisk, knowing that they could undo any event that happened between then and their last save.

Frisk entered through the elevator doors, and selected the button that read "L1," referring to left side of the first floor of Hotland. Memorizing where each button lead to was important when navigating an area as large as this.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open noiselessly. A wave of heat rolled trough the open doors, making frisk gasp. They exited the elevator, blinking tears out of their eyes as the faint smell of sulfur tickled their nose.

Frisk quickly made their way down towards the area in front of Alphys' lab. The large structure loomed above them, although there was no shadow to the building. The entire area was lit by lava, making Frisk slightly nervous when approaching the bridges spanning between the solid rock platforms.

Frisk looked down at the prompt, asking them if they would like to save.

 _Return_

Frisk decided not to save currently. They had just gone through hours of walking around, hugging and talking to random monsters to make it to the end of the Underground. The barrier had been taken down. If anything happened… They decided to play it safe and keep the save that would jump them directly back to their friends should anything go wrong.

Frisk cast one last glance at the laboratory, before descending down the stairs that would lead them to the ferry person.

Just as Frisk had begun their climb down, their phone rang. They took their phone out of their pocket, looking at the weird modifications Alphys had made to it, before answering the call and holding it to their ear.

Big mistake.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus exclaimed through the phone. Frisk jerked slightly at the loud tone, but continued to listen to the obnoxiously loud skeleton. "MY PHONE IS ALMOST OUT OF BATTERY, SO I DECIDED I WOULD CALL YOU TO SAY-" The call ended.

Frisk shook their head, giggling at Papyrus' unfortunate timing. They put the phone back into their pocket, and began their descent once again.

The steps led them below the level where the lava should have been. The bright red and orange colour of the rocks leading to a darker purple and blue as the sound of rushing water echoed up the stairs. The bright red stairs stayed the same colour, contrasting brightly with the dark walls around them.

In what seemed like no time at all, Frisk was at the bottom of the stairs. They furrowed their brows, and looked behind them at the impossibly long staircase leading back up to the area in front of Alphys' lab. There was no way they could have gone down all of those stairs that quickly, short of falling down them. Frisk decided not to question it. After all, they were in an enormous underground cavern, filled with magical monsters and mystical powers of the soul. A little magic short cut or two wouldn't inconvenience anyone.

Frisk turned to face the ferry person once again. The figure was wearing a hooded cloak, covering their face in shadows. This was a person Frisk would normally talk to up on the Surface, but here, nothing was the way it seemed to be. The figure was sitting atop a… boat? With a wooden dog head at the front. The ferry person was humming to themselves quietly.

Frisk walked up to the cloaked person, and gave a gentle tug on their sleeve. The hooded figure looked down at them, a surprised sound escaping them.

"Oh hello there." The river person said politely. "I love to ride in my boat. Would you care to join me?"

Frisk nodded and affirmative, and smiled, clambering onto the boat behind the hooded figure. Frisk asked the person to take them to Snowdin. They weren't sure why they wanted to go to Snowden, other then a feeling inside them telling them that it was close to where they wanted to be.

The boat suddenly lurched upwards, seeming to rise a distance out of the water. Frisk looked down at the sides of the boat, finding short dog-like legs on the sides, standing on the water.

The dog-boat took off down the river, running incredibly quickly. The ride, however, was smooth. Some water splashed up and hit Frisk in the face whenever one of the paws on the boat slapped into the water.

The river person was humming to themselves again, seeming to be much happier sharing the ride with someone.

Frisk sat down on their knees behind the river person, keeping one hand on the cloak at all times.

Frisk thought about their time in the Underground. They had fallen down the hole near the midway point up Mount Ebott. The golden flowers that Frisk had landed on were extremely springy, like an extra bouncy trampoline. They had been scared, looking around at the dark cavern with tears in their eyes. Frisk had called for help for half an hour before they realized that no one was coming for them.

Frisk hadn't even been down there for an hour before they had met someone… That tried to murder them. Toriel had been there just in time, launching a fireball at the evil flower before healing their wounds. Frisk had felt so terrible when they left the ruins after being told to never return.

On the way to the castle, they had encountered the others, all of which tried to kill Frisk, except for Sans, and Papyrus had merely wanted to capture them. Frisk couldn't be upset at them though; with what Frisk had learned, they had every right to hate humans. If one person was standing in between your entire races freedom, wouldn't you take that chance?

Of course, all of those attempted murders were nothing compared to what Frisk had to face when they had defeated Asgore. Flowey had absorbed all six of the previous humans souls, and turned itself into the most terrifying thing Frisk had seen. Flowey had taken control of Frisk's saving power, and abused it to kill them time and time again.

Finally, Frisk had defeated Flowey, the six human souls causing Flowey to implode. Of course, it wasn't dead. Frisk woke up surrounded in darkness, with Flowey sitting in front of them, telling Frisk to kill them.

Frisk refused... Time and time again.

Flowey hadn't been able to understand how someone could be so compassionate, even after they had tried to destroy the entire Underground.

Finally, Flowey had given up on trying to make Frisk murder them. Flowey had given Frisk one last piece of advice before they had left.

"Be better friends with Alphys."

So that was what Frisk had done.

Frisk had woken up outside of Asgore's castle; everything had been reset back to before the two of them had fought. They had immediately left for Alphys' lab, when they had gotten a call from Undyne telling them to meet her in front of Papyrus' house in Snowden.

So they were back to the same boat, riding to the same place, from the same place.

Frisk broke from their thoughts, deciding that they had thought of the past enough for now.

The ferry person wasn't humming to themselves anymore. Frisk couldn't hear the splashing sound of water… Or anything for that matter.

Everything was silent.

This had never happened before.

Frisk got to their knees, and placed one hand on the boat near the edge; their other hand was gripping the river person's cloak tighter. Frisk leaned out over the boat to look down into the water.

The water was still. Several droplets hovered into the air in from of them, reflecting the area around them. Frisk moved their gaze to a relatively flat area of the frozen water to look at their reflection.

They froze.

Their heart began beating madly in their chest, as if trying to escape.

Frisk's breathing was loud and quick in their ears. They began to hyperventilate, beginning to feel light headed.

A knot formed in Frisk's stomach, panic setting in.

Staring back at Frisk was a pair of red eyes, dripping blood. It was the same face, and the same expression. The shirt was different though, with one yellow stripe in the middle of the green long sleeved shirt.

" **YOU KILLED THE** **M, DIDN'T YOU?** "

Frisk tried to look away, but their eyes were glued to the reflection. Frisk's vision was growing red around the edges, their heart hammering loudly.

Images of Frisk's friends appeared before them. In a bright flash each of them was cut down before them, large slashes and cuts across their bodies.

Frisk was standing before Toriel, in a small room carved from the purple hued stone. Behind Toriel was a large archway. Through the arch was a large, purple door at the end of a stone hallway.

Toriel was blocking the way through, staring down at Frisk with a sad look.

Frisk was also having a difficult time thinking about killing Toriel. She was almost a mother to them. They had only known each other for several hours, but in that time they had grown to know each other.

Toriel was caring and kind, as a mother should be… or at least how Frisk's parents should have been.

" _Don't care about them."_ A voice spoke in their head, muting their thoughts. _"You wanted to see what would happen, and now we're doing it."_

" _I-I changed my mind..."_ Frisk thought, shaking their head. _"I'm going to reset."_

" _No, I can't let that happen now. Let me take control."_

Frisk struggled internally for a moment, fighting the growing pressure at the back of their mind. The pressure began to overwhelm their thoughts; Frisk was unable to keep them out.

Frisk began to black out, but their body was still standing.

" _Ahh… That's better..."_ The voice spoke. Frisk felt their fingers moving, but not due to their thoughts.

The fading of their mind stopped. They were brought back to the front, able to control their own movements once again. The human looked at Toriel with a kind of glare, their thoughts warping and twisting to conform to the presence in their mind.

"You want to leave so badly?" Toriel asked, a small bite to her tone. She looked as if was fighting to keep herself from just letting the human child through. She gave a sigh, shaking her head as she looked to the side, refusing to look directly at the human. "You are just like the others."

" _The others were not as determined as I am!"_ The human thought to themselves.

"There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself..." Toriel stared directly at the human, her expression grim. "Prove to me you are strong enough to survive."

Toriel stood resolutely, waiting for the human to make the first move.

Suddenly, without warning, the human lunged forwards. The sharpened toy knife was in their hands in a flash. The blade tore through Toriel's flesh like a knife through butter. The human tried to remove the knife, but it was too deeply embedded in Toriel's body. The human released their grip on the knife, and took a step back, grinning.

Toriel stood there, a shocked expression plastered to her face. Her eyes were wide, filled with both emotional and physical pain.

"Y…" Toriel struggled to speak, the wound in her stomach began leaking dust. "You… really hate me that much?"

The human felt a satisfying pain in their chest as Frisk tried to reset. They could feel Frisk trying to fight their way back to the surface, desperate to save their "Mom."

"Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here." Toriel forced her words out. Her legs were beginning to give out, shaking violently. "Not you… But them!" Toriel finally sank to her knees, cradling the knife in her stomach with one hand, the other on the floor of the ruins, supporting herself.

Toriel laughed weakly, and quietly. Her body began to crumble, dust falling to the purple floor.

The human gave a silent chuckle, and stepped forward to retrieve the toy knife from the dust pile. They brushed some dust from the handle, gave it a flick, and then continued on their way.

…

Suddenly, the human was standing in a snowstorm, wind ripping at their clothing as they squinted to see who was in their way.

Papyrus materialized in front of the human next. He was offering a hug of acceptance. Papyrus was determined to turn around the human's life, regardless of the innocent monsters they had slaughtered. Papyrus believed that the human could be a better person, as long as they had the right person to guide them.

In a bright flash of light, Papyrus' head toppled from his shoulders into his waiting hands. Papyrus' body disintegrated, dropping his head to the ground on the pile of dust.

"W-WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT I EXPECTED..." Papyrus seemed to lose that sparkle in his eyes, as he realized that not even he could change what had become of the human. "BUT… ST… STILL! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" Papyrus seemed to have accepted his fate, and breathed his final words, encouraging the murderous human to be a better person. "EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK SO! I..." A tear leaked from Papyrus' left eye socket, wetting his own dust beneath him. "I PROMISE..."

Papyrus' head added to the pile of dust, a small amount of it floating away on the wind.

…

Undyne was standing before the human, large, gray mountains towering before them. The wind was howling between the rocks, and there were clouds swirling above, giving the area an ominous feel.

"Alphys told me she would watch me fight you..." Undyne was standing in front of the human child, body beginning to turn to dust as she spoke her last words. "And if anything went wrong, she would..." Undyne had to catch her breath, almost deeming to be forcing herself to stay alive for several seconds longer. "She would evacuate everyone. By now she's called Asgore and told him to absorb the six human souls." Undyne's body began to disintegrate, dust floating off of her to the ground slowly, collecting in a pile around her feet. "...And with that power..." Undyne's words were forced out; she had seconds left. "...This world will live on..."

Undyne's body turned gray, and crumbled to the ground, turning into a fine powder.

…

The human was standing in a large, golden hall. There were large pillars supporting the structure towering over their heads. The windows were allowing bright light into the hallway, but from where the light was coming from, they had no clue.

The battle with Sans had been a long one. The human had died more times than they could count, but they kept coming. Each battle becoming easier as they predicted Sans' attacks, dodging each one with a grace that sent shivers down Sans' spine.

Sans had attacked relentlessly, even attacking the human outside of his magical attacking turn. His attacks ignored the small resistance buffer the human soul put up after being struck. Truly, he was the last line of defense for the rest of the Underground.

Sans appeared still before the human. Time seemed to move in slow motion as an attack headed directly towards the exhausted Sans, who seemed to be sleeping while standing. Sans dodged out of the way of the attack at the last second, barely missing him. He smirked, a cocky smile spreading across his face.

"heh, didja really think you would be abl-"

A second attack from the human caught Sans off guard. A large gash appeared in his chest. Sans crumpled to the ground, breathing heavily as he tried to slow the heavy bleeding with a hand, the other being used to prop himself up. Blood began to trickle from his mouth, down his chin, and onto his blue sweater.

Sans glanced down at the large wound in his chest, before looking back up at the human. He managed to crack a grin, eyes closing for a moment.

"...so." Sans looked like he was on the verge of tears. Everything he had fought for had been for nothing. All his friends, and family. Gone. There was nothing left for him. With the barrier still up, no monster would be safe forever. "guess that's it, huh?"

Sans looked down at the ground, and sighed, a look of acceptance settling. "just… don't say i didn't warn you..." Sans sat quietly for a moment, closing his eyes, struggling to breathe. He finally pushed himself upwards, stumbling to his feet. "welp." Sans sighed, taking his hand off his bleeding cut. "i'm going to grillby's." Sans shrugged.

He began limping away, taking a sharp right, disappearing from the human's vision behind a pillar.

"papyrus." Sans said weakly, his voice seeming to be distant; echoey, as if he were traveling through a tunnel. "do you want anything?"

And then there was silence.

…

The human was standing before King Asgore. The large monster was easily a couple feet taller than any human Frisk had met. A panicked looked Flowey was hiding in the shadows behind the King's throne.

The human and King Asgore were currently standing in his garden, a beautiful area teeming with golden flowers and green grass. Birds were chirping above the three, without a care in the world.

"Oh…" Asgore began, looking down at the small human child with a confused look. "You must be the one Flower just warned me about."

At these words, the human shot a glare at Flowey, who all but vanished into the ground. He looked extremely anxious.

"Howdy!" Asgore raised one hand in a small wave. He was immediately glared at by the human, who was holding the knife in their hand so tightly their knuckles began to turn white. "Erm…" Asgore cleared his throat, and looked towards the child before him. "What kind of monster are you…?"

The human realized that Asgore couldn't recognize them as a human. They had no soul, no heart, and could easily be mistaken as a monster by anyone kind enough.

In fact…

The human was a monster… Not the friendly kind, who had been trying to free themselves… Oh no…

The human was a murderer.

"Sorry, I cannot tell." Asgore admitted sheepishly. "Well, we can always-"

Asgore was cut off by the human initiating a battle with them. The human looked down at their chest and watched as a small, heart shaped object began to glow red… It looked horribly misshapen and deformed.

"Now, now…" Asgore chided, looking at the human child with mild concern. "There is no need to fight." Asgore was wearing his armor, but had yet to absorb the six human souls. Nothing could go wrong. "Why don't we settle this… Over a nice cup of tea?"

The human was standing quietly, a sadistic grin slowly spreading across their face; their eyes shadowed by their hair.

The human felt compelled to attack Asgore; wanted to kill him.

Instinctively, as though relying on years of experience, the child took a small step forwards.

The human suddenly lunged towards Asgore.

The metal blade in the humans hand cut through the armor Asgore was wearing, rending it right down the middle. The blade sank into the soft flash of Asgore's stomach, slicing through him as if the human was doing nothing more than cutting up a pesky weed in the garden.

The human wrenched the blade from Asgore's body, taking a step back to view their handiwork.

"Why… You..." Asgore began, sounding more surprised than angry. It was if he couldn't comprehend how anyone could be this heartless. He collapsed to the flowery ground in the garden, his body shaking as he tried to keep himself upright.

The human was trying to decide on whether or not to let Asgore slowly succumb to their wounds, or to kill them outright, when they were interrupted.

A ring of "friendliness pellets" (bullets) surrounded Asgore, spinning recklessly. They launched towards his weakened body. The bullets collided with Asgore, instantly turning him to dust.

Flowey sprung up out of the ground in front of the human, before even the dust had settled to the garden floor.

"See? I never betrayed you!" Flowey smiled too widely, his eyes betraying his carefree look. The human could tell he was scared. "It was all a trick, see? I was waiting to kill him for you!"

The human took the knife in their hands, and pressed the tip of the blade gently in their palm, beginning to spin it slowly.

"After all, it's me, your best friend!" Flowey's expression changed. His eyes were looking glassy, his lips trembling as he looked at the human. "I promise I won't get in your way!"

The human looked through Flowey, seeing him as nothing more than an annoying object; whatever was left of a previous life.

"I-I can help..." Flowey's voice was shaking. "I can… I can..."

Flowey began crying, his petals drooping as his stem began shaking.

The human took the knife, and hid it behind their back. They slowly approached Flowey, sporting a fake grin, trying to seem as happy as possible.

The golden flower was visibly trembling as the human approached. He leaned backwards when the human knelt down in front of them.

"Please don't kill me!" Flowey's voice trembled, tears flowing freely.

The human gingerly grabbed hold of his stem, causing Flowey to stop shaking.

Flowey calmed down immediately, a small spark of hope in their eyes. Flowey looked up at the human, a small smile forcing its way onto his face.

The human took the knife, and slashed at the flower.

Once. Flowey looked up as his figurative heart broke. He knew he was going to die. He was devastated.

Twice. Flowey's eyes became black voids. His stem crumpled, and his petals began to turn to dust,

Thrice.

Four times. Flowey was little more than a crumpled ball of plant, a terrified expression glued to his face.

Five. Nothing was recognizable of Flowey anymore.

Six. The human slashed at whatever petal was left, cutting up the plant into bits before Flowey could turn into dust.

Seven. The knife plunged into the Earth where the remains of Flowey were sitting.

A total of eight slashes to the defenseless flower. There was nothing left of the golden coloured flower.

...

Frisk was shaking hard, their ears ringing. Tears were streaming down their face as they denied what they were being shown.

" **YOU ARE A MURDERER** **!** " The reflection spoke, both aloud and inside Frisk's head.

Everything resumed. The boat lurched forwards , and Frisk stumbled back into the middle of the boat. Frisk buried their face into the cloak, and sobbed quietly.

The river person seemed oblivious to the freezing time. They stopped humming to themselves to deliver their random advice that they would give every trip.

"Beware of the man who speaks in hands…" They spoke ominously. Frisk felt a shiver travel up their spine at the words. Frisk took several deep breaths, thinking about the friends and family they had waiting for them near the Surface. Slowing their breathing, Frisk wiped their eyes, sniffling slightly. Frisk finally calmed down enough to think again.

During their entire trip in the Underground, they had never met anyone who had spoken in "hands." Whether that meant sign language, or some other form of communication, Frisk didn't know.

And Frisk wasn't sure if they wanted to.

 **~{o}~{o}~**

The boat arrived in Snowden rather quickly. It came to a quick stop on the water, pulling up to the shoreline. Snow began falling around Frisk as they stepped off the boat, wishing the Ferry person well.

Music started up out of nowhere. Frisk was used to it by now. It was all in a days… Half a day? Several hours? Frisk wasn't sure how long they had been down here. It couldn't have been too long since they weren't absolutely exhausted.

Frisk stifled a yawn, eyes watering, as they walked South towards Snowdin.

Frisk paused on the way down. Right beside the ice cube creating building was the Ice Wolf… Not throwing ice blocks into the river… The large, brown furred Ice Wolf was just standing there, as if waiting to talk to someone… Or waiting for a new pair of pants… Frisk hadn't realized it before, but Ice Wolf had never been wearing pants. He had probably been too busy throwing the ice blocks into the river to go clothes shopping. Maybe that would change now that the barrier was down.

Frisk continued on their way, waving slightly to the Ice Wolf. His hand twitched slightly in return.

Frisk walked down past several houses, before coming to the main street of Snowdin. To their left was a group of the dog-human monsters they had fought earlier. All of them were standing around this tall, white, gooey looking dog.

Doggo, Dogamy, Dogaressa, and Greater dog were all looking happily at their… Relative? Discussing about how their family was all connected now. The Amalgamite was looking happy as well, it's tail whipping happily back and forth.

Frisk was glad that they were happy.

Frisk continued on their journey, the small sensation telling them to go further. They turned to the right, and began strolling through an empty looking Snowdin. There was a large amount of footprints, all leading West, towards Waterfall. Maybe some monsters had heard of the destroyed barrier already.

Frisk passed in front of Grillby's, giving a half wave to the bear standing in front of the restaurant. The bear gave an overly friendly wave, no doubt wanting to talk Frisk's ear off about "politics." Frisk highly doubted that was how politics really worked, but then again, they were ten. They had no want to learn about it anyways; it seemed like complicated adult stuff.

As Frisk walked up to the Christmas tree, they couldn't help but talk to the monster child. He was wearing a yellow shirt, with three brown stripes on it. However, Frisk was curios about how they could get the shirt on with no arms…

"Hey, dude!" The child called as Frisk approached. "Wow! Did you hear the barrier was brought down? I heard by someone it was a human that did it, but I believe someone else took it down." The monster child obviously had a case of verbal diarrhea: they could not stop talking. The child took another step forwards, leaning closer to whisper to Frisk.

"I believe my hero took down the barrier!" The child whispered excitedly. "Wanna know who it is?"

Frisk nodded, and waited for a long rant about how cool, and awesome Undyne was.

"Papyrus!" The child smiled, taking a step backwards. "The great Papyrus took down the barrier!" The child was doing its best impression of the obnoxiously loud skeleton. He was honestly pretty good at it. However, he could probably never reach the same volume as the tall skeleton brother.

Frisk feigned their surprise, pretending to not know about the barrier. The monster kid spoke about the bright flash of light, and then everyone knew about it being down.

"How could you not know about it!?" He exclaimed. Maybe he would reach Papyrus levels after all.

Frisk told the child that they had been in the bathroom at the time. That seemed to be all that was needed, as the child immediately changed the subject.

"Dude… Why's everyone staring at you?" The kid asked. Frisk looked away from the monster child, and found that several people down the street were looking at them with a kind of curiosity and awe. "Wait! I forgot! You're a human!"

Frisk nodded, giggling at the child's energy.

"Oh my gosh! Dude! Now I can tell them that I met a human… _And_ that Undyne touched me!" The monster child raced off, tripping and falling into the snow, before jumping back to their feet and running off again.

Frisk hadn't told the child that telling his parents that Undyne had touched him was not, in fact, the best choice of words.

Frisk shrugged, and continued past the tree. They looked down underneath the tree as they passed, a fleeting hope that their name was on one of the presents for once.

It was not.

But it didn't really matter. As long as everyone else was happy, it was fine.

Frisk flushed as they realized that people were really staring at them as they walked. Attention wasn't really what Frisk wanted at the moment.

Frisk passed in front of the Inn. They thought about renting a room for a few minutes to get a nap. They remembered, unfortunately, the loud monsters in the next room over, and decided that maybe getting a room was not a great idea. Besides, Toriel and the others were still waiting for Frisk.

Frisk stopped in front of the strange box beside the store. Frisk's stomach rumbled noisily, making up their mind for them. Frisk walked up to the large box, and opened it.

The box was filled with a multitude of items Frisk had collected during their journey. It had a stick, an old dusty tutu, a pink glove, some old ribbon, and a Bisicle (a two pronged Popsicle, so you can eat it twice).

Frisk took the Bisicle from the box, relieved to see it was still good, and closed the box. Frisk put the item in their inventory, where ever that was… To save it in case they really needed it.

Frisk left Snowdin, the tugging sensation leading them further back into the Underground.

Frisk crossed the long, terrifying bridge that spanned across a gap in the mountain. Below the bridge was a long fall, and a large forest of Pine trees. Frisk continued quickly across the bride, refusing to look down after that initial glance.

They journeyed past the intriguing snow poffs, and the Greater Dog house. How it could house such a large dog...

Frisk honestly had no idea how half of the things in the underground worked. All they knew was that they did.

 **~{o}~{o}~**

Frisk's walk took them past puzzle after puzzle. Papyrus sure did enjoy his puzzles. They passed by the Lesser Dog snow sculptures, all of them fallen under the weight of their long necks. Frisk walked for about fifteen minutes in the slightly chilly weather, regretting the fact that they hadn't worn anything warmer.

Eventually, Frisk had come to the frozen plate of spaghetti Papyrus had made to them. The microwave beside it was unplugged, and only had spaghetti settings. However, the spaghetti had a small nibble taken out of it, obviously from the mouse.

Frisk had still refused to save, needing the lifeline of their friends just in case anything went wrong.

They continued on, passing by Sans' word search. Frisk had passed by the snowball golf course, and the Nice Cream stand, but slowed down a little when crossing the bridge. Frisk really disliked heights.

The tugging sensation had led them on past there. Frisk slid across ice, passed by both Sans and Papyrus' sentry stations, and the conveniently shaped lamp, which still filled them with determination.

The tall, bare trees towered over Frisk as they walked down the long stretch towards the ruins. Frisk had tugged their hands into their pockets to keep them warm, but did nothing to warm their feet, which were becoming numb with the cold.

Finally, the doors to the ruins were before them. Frisk turned their head to the side, looking at the bush near the door. They caught a glint of light off of an object, which the quickly identified as Alphys' camera. The red light that indicated the camera was active stayed off.

Shrugging their shoulders, Frisk pushed open the doors to the ruins, and entered.

 **~{o}~{o}~**

Frisk walked down the long, purple hallway, lined with darker purple brick. Frisk paused once they stood in the spot where they had killed Toriel in the vision, a chill running down their spine. Frisk reminded themselves that Toriel was, in fact, alive and well.

But frisk couldn't shake that feeling. Frisk took their phone from their pocket, and was about to call Toriel when they noticed the notification telling them of several text messages. Frisk checked her messages, pleased to find that Toriel had texted them while Frisk had been gone. The text's consisted of several messages of Toriel learning to text, as well as a few jokes; eventually leading to a fight for the phone with Sans as the two tried to make fun of each other through the texts to Frisk.

Frisk remembered to never have Sans as a transcriber of their texts.

Frisk continued down the hallway, taking a sharp right turn to follow the hall. They could see the steps in the distance leading up to Toriel's house. Frisk took off at a run, the pull in the back of their mind stronger than ever.

Frisk's lungs burned as they sprinted down the hallway, their hair blowing back a little. They could feel their heart beating faster as their feet collided with the floor, only to push off once more.

Frisk raced up the steps, a grin on their face as they burst into the middle of the house. They could feel the adrenaline rush of excitement. The house still felt homey, even with no one living there. Would Toriel come to get her belongings later?

Frisk shook their head, and continued to follow the sensation. The pull was leading them out the front door, past the large, black oak in the front of the yard. Frisk passed through another arch, before taking a sharp right, racing into the room with the rotated pillars.

The pillar room hadn't really been difficult to solve, since Frisk had been able to see around the pillars to activate the colored switches. The three grey pillars could hide nothing from them!

Frisk made four quick lefts, and exited the puzzle room… Only to enter another puzzle. Of course, all of them had been previously solved by Frisk when they had originally fallen into the Underground.

Frisk slowed down finally as they walked through another room with six vines on the north wall, and six pits to fall into. The pits were highlighted with a darker purple than the rest of the room.

Frisk was breathing hard, a light sweat forming on their forehead. It felt good to run. They hadn't done it for almost a day now, when they had climbed Mount Ebott. However, Frisk didn't want to think about what they had been running from.

Eventually, Frisk passed through that room as well, passing through a stone door frame and entering a new room. This room was rather plain, with nothing other than three Froggits (frog like monster's with a habit of frowning) and a sign at the end of the room.

Wait… four Froggits. If frisk squinted, they could see a tiny Froggit, the size of a small ant, in a crack in the wall.

As Frisk passed them, they gave each a small 'hello,' earning Frisk a croak in return.

Frisk continued out of the room, moving South into a small area. To their left was the spider bake sale, and to the right was a small red leaf pile, with cheese placed on a table slightly beyond that.

Remembering their battle with Miss Muffet, Frisk turned to the left to go see the spiders.

Frisk entered the room, noticing several spiders crawling across the floor and walls. Frisk thanked them all for sending a telegram to the spiders in Hotland. If they hadn't… Frisk would most likely have been giant cupcake food. Frisk knelt down, and set a stack of thirty (30) gold coins on the purple floor beside a small spider web, telling them to keep it as a thank you for helping.

Frisk did feel slightly bad that they hadn't had any money in the beginning to purchase a spider doughnut, but smiled as a smaller spider, most likely a baby, crawled down from the ceiling. The mother spider was directly behind the baby spider. The baby gave a little wiggle of one of its legs to Frisk, earning a small wave back from Frisk. The baby spider crawled back up to its mother before the two went back up the wall.

Frisk smiled and stood up, their heart feeling lighter than it had before they had come here. Frisk left the room, taking extra caution not to step on any spiders on the trip out.

Frisk was back in the small room with the leaf pile. Frisk took a running start, and jumped into the leaf pile, giggling playfully.

A Whimsum was watching her from the corner of the room. The small, moth like creature lost its fear for a moment as it watched the child play, before floating above Frisk and out, intending on leaving the Underground. It had a long trip ahead of it.

A single red leaf landed on their nose when Frisk had thrown some leaves into the air. They smiled, and grabbed it gently between their thumb and forefinger. Frisk set it down with the rest of the leaves, and pushed them all back into a pile with their foot.

Frisk felt a little lonely, playing in the leaves by themselves. However, they did have… something… to complete, and that gave them the determination to continue.

Frisk left the small room, and paused to look at the wooden table with the cheese set on it. There seemed to be a small nibble out of it. Frisk glanced down at the mouse hole, a small smile creeping across their face. They turned to the cheese and broke off a small piece, before setting it in front of the small hole.

Frisk left the mouse to its own devices, or lack of, and entered another room.

The water on both sides of the room were a welcome change to the constant purple of the Ruins. The room had three switches in it. Two were pressed down by rocks, and the third… A sentient rock.

Frisk crossed over the line of grates, with holes that would shoot spikes upwards the instant one of the switched lost its signal.

Frisk made sure to quickly pass over the spike plates.

As Frisk made to pass through the room entirely, they were called to a stop by the sentient rock.

"Hey, Pumpkin!" The rock called out. The rock was the only one who called Frisk by that name. "I'm in a bit of a predicament, if you don't mind helping me out."

Frisk approached the rock, asking it what its trouble was.

"You see, Pumpkin, now that the barrier is down, I would like to go the surface. However, the darn spike trap won't let me go past it." The rock sighed. "The water on either side isn't deep, but… I never learned how to swim." The sentient rock admitted, seeming to redden slightly. "So, whadd'ya say? Would you help me out?"

Frisk agreed to help out the rock, and proceeded to stand on the pressure switch for it.

"Thanks, Pumpkin!" The rock seemed happy as it magically slid over the spike trap, and out of the room. "I won't forget that!" It called from the other room.

It wasn't a problem to Frisk. They could always just wade through the water, and cross it without another weight on the switch.

Frisk stepped off the switch.

 _Click!_

A sharp noise sounded, and the spikes sprung back up, effectively trapping Frisk until they decided to get their shoes wet.

Frisk smiled to themselves, and walked in the opposite direction the rock had gone. They left the room, hoping that there weren't as many puzzles as they had remembered, or else they would be disappointed.

Frisk was disappointed.

The next room over was a large trap, with only a certain pathway a person could take. Any wrong moves, and said person would fall… Into a large pile of leaves.

Feeling adventurous, Frisk just raced out into the middle of the room. The floor dropped out from under them, and they gave a cry of joy as they plunged into the leaves.

Frisk shuffled around for a moment before emerging, once again covered in red leaves. The red contrasted nicely with the still purple room (which was beginning to irritate Frisk).

Frisk strolled to the end of the pit, and stepped up to a large doorway. The door led to a closet sized area, with a ladder leading upwards to the level Frisk had just fallen down from. Frisk climbed up the ladder, and slid out on the slide exiting onto the floor.

Frisk stood up, and brushed their pants off. They gave a small smile at the exhilarating ride, and proceeded towards the next room.

Frisk passed through the next two rooms with ease, one with an already solved pressure switch spike trap, and the other with a drop down into more leaves, before climbing out again.

Frisk briefly wondered where all of the leaves came from. The only thing that had produced leaves that they had seen in the Ruins was Toriel's… Tree… Frisk came to the conclusion that Toriel had walked back and forth between her front yard and these traps, placing leaves down so that no one would be injured. Frisk hadn't noticed, but the ends of the spikes had been melted down, most likely with fire magic, rendering them mostly harmless.

Frisk eventually came to a room with several piles of leaves, and a Froggit standing at the North end of the room. There was a light colored purple path that led to the next room.

Frisk followed the pathway, passing by the Froggit. Frisk gave the frog-like monster a smile, making its frown disappear. It gave a happy croak, and watched Frisk enter the next room with a small smile.

Frisk looked down the long hallway of the room with anticipation. They remembered this room perfectly. Toriel had run off to the other end, leaving Frisk on one end to test their independence. Frisk had had more than enough practice being independent.

The pull in the back of their mind was strong, leading them in an almost straight line now.

They looked at the end of the hallway with a challenge, and began to run towards the end. Frisk began sprinting, their shoes slapping against the rocky floor. They eyed the end of the hallway with determination, refusing to give up, even as their legs began to feel numb. The pathway drifted to the left and right, but Frisk continued straight.

Halfway through the hallway, Frisk tripped over their own feet, tumbling to the hard rocky ground. Frisk placed their hands out to soften the fall, scraping the skin from their palms.

Frisk felt tears welling up in their eyes as they laid on the ground face down. Refusing to give up, Frisk pushed away any pained thoughts, and pushed themselves up. Their left knee was already beginning to feel sore, and their hands were tingling. Frisk wiped their hands on the hem of their striped shirt, smearing a little blood on it.

It could always wash out.

Frisk continued down the hallway, but at a slower pace. The tugging sensation wasn't going anywhere.

…

After what felt like ages, but in reality was only thirty seconds, Frisk reached the end of the hallway. They carried onto the next room without hesitation, an almost giddy feeling rising up in Frisk's chest as they realized that they were nearly there.

And then they remembered the room.

Frisk stopped right before they planted their foot onto the spikes. There was a large bridge covered in spikes, and from what Frisk could remember, there was a particular path to go along…

Frisk couldn't remember…

Taking a deep breath, and mentally preparing themselves, Frisk stepped out with one foot aiming directly at the spikes.

They shot downwards, disappearing into the grate below.

Frisk took another step, and another. Then they stopped.

The spikes stopped disappearing.

Frisk took a sharp left turn, and began with the same process: placing one foot in front of the other, stopping to turn only when the spikes wouldn't move.

Eventually, after several close calls, Frisk made it to the other side. They told themselves that they should remember that for later.

From what Frisk could remember, there were no more puzzles that could be hazardous to their life. Frisk began walking slightly faster, knowing that the end was just ahead.

They passed through another two rooms, one with several switches on the wall that always stayed active, helpfully labeled by Toriel, and the other… With a somewhat angry looking Dummy. Frisk politely refused to talk to the Dummy, remembering that there was another angry one further down the road in Waterfall.

Frisk approached a large set of purple doors, with a large symbol on them. Frisk recognized this as the "Angel of Death" that several people had referred to.

Frisk pushed open the doors, entering a smaller room, with an open doorway leading down further into the Underground.

Frisk walked through, and down a set of stairs that led downwards once they had passed through the doorway. The purple in the room began fading, leaving place for more normal looking stone. Frisk was glad to see the irritating purple brick finally leave.

Frisk walked towards a rather large purple arch, complete with carved columns and an image of the "Angel of Death" engraved above the stone entrance.

Frisk had entered a dark room, with a single beam of light shining down on a grassy patch in the middle of a floor of stone. They couldn't tell where the borders of the room were, as there was not enough light to see in the darkness.

This was where Frisk had first met Flowey.

Suppressing a shudder, Frisk quickly walked through the room, and through an arch identical to the one at the other end of the room.

Frisk could feel the pull, tugging almost frantically now. Frisk looked to the right to see a figure standing in front of golden flowers, watering them with a small watering can. The figure was wearing a green shirt, with several yellow stripes running horizontally across it.

As Frisk approached, they noticed more of the person they were being led to. The soft looking white fur, and the long, floppy ears, similar to his parents.

Asriel tried not to acknowledge Frisk. The smaller monster child had specifically chosen this spot to leave this world. This was both the most inconvenient location to travel to…

And because this is where both of his human friends had fallen down.

Frisk walked right up to Asriel, looking confused as the tugging sensation in their chest finally disappeared.

Asriel gave Frisk no notice as he leaned further out to water the springy golden flowers, which bounced around under the water droplets. The already watered flowers had left over water droplets on them, allowing the sunlight from directly above to glint off of them, making them appear much brighter in the light than they actually were.

Deciding that he could ignore the human no longer, Asriel set down the watering can, which vaporized the instant he let go, and turned to face the human.

"Don't worry about me." Asriel said quietly, a sad smile coming to rest on his face. "Someone has to take care of these flowers..."

Frisk stood quietly, refusing to move from their spot. Seeing this, Asriel gave a watery sigh, and continued talking to Frisk.

"Please leave me alone..." Asriel told them quietly. "I can't come back… I-I just can't."

Frisk knew that Asriel was trying to get them to leave, so that Asriel could just pass without having to face any difficulties. However, if Frisk did leave, they would feel bad every time they say Toriel or Asgore. Knowing that they could have made their child happy in their last moments, but chose to be selfish instead.

Frisk knew that Asriel would fade soon. With no soul to sustain him, he was running on residual energy from all of the souls he had previously absorbed.

Frisk stubbornly sat down, motioning for Asriel to come and join them. With a heavyhearted breath, Asriel sat gently down beside Frisk, leaving an extra amount of space. It seemed as if Asriel was afraid of hurting Frisk.

"...you know it's better if they don't see me." Asriel finally spoke, breaking the silence.

Frisk looked at Asriel sadly, a knowing expression crossing their features.

"Why are you still talking to me?" Asriel asked, shifting around a little. "You should go be happy with-" Asriel's voice cracked slightly. "W-With your new family..."

Asriel made a move to stand up, but Frisk suddenly leaned towards him, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. Frisk asked Asriel if he would like to talk for a while, at least until Frisk had to leave. Frisk intentionally left out the part of Asriel leaving. They didn't want to believe it. It wasn't fair.

"Y-yeah… Okay..." Asriel gave a watery chuckle, and sat back down, a little closer to Frisk this time. Frisk refused to release Asriel's hand, but it didn't seem like he objected. In fact, Asriel's fingers wrapped slightly around Frisk's.

They sat in silence for a little while, just keeping each other company. Suddenly, Asriel reached over towards Frisk, and removed something from their shoulder.

It was a red leaf.

Asriel held the leaf gently, as if it reminded him of something.

"Did you bring this for me?" Asriel teased, a fraction of a smile showing.

Frisk looked at the leaf in confusion for a moment, before a grin grew on their lips. Asriel began laughing at Frisk's expression, causing Frisk to begin laughing as well.

The two weren't sure whether it was the seriousness of the situation, or their bottled up emotions, but it didn't really matter.

The two giggled and laughed for a long time, tears streaming down their faces as they hugged themselves. Their stomachs began hurting from all the laughing, which in turn made them laugh with each other more.

The two laid back onto the bed of springy flowers, giggling as their laughing fit finally subsided. Asriel and Frisk were facing each other, smiling fully for the first time in what felt like forever. For both of them…

"Frisk..." Asriel sighed, his smile finally draining away. "Why… Did you come here? Everyone knows of the legend. 'Travelers who climb Mount Ebott are said to disappear…'" Asriel recounted what he had been told from… His _previous_ human friend. "Why would you go to a place like that?"

A brief flicker of emotion crossed Frisk's face. Although Frisk tried to hide it, Asriel managed to catch it. Asriel immediately felt worried, because if what Asriel was thinking of was true… Frisk and… his deceased friend weren't too different…

"I guess only you would know though." Asriel immediately shifted the conversation from Frisk to himself to avoid causing Frisk any emotional distress in his last moments. "I… I know why..." Asriel had to take a breath to force himself to speak _their_ name. "Why Chara climbed the mountain..."

Asriel explained to Frisk that Chara had climbed the mountain for an… "Unhappy" reason. He told Frisk of their hatred of humanity, but confessed that he had never known why Chara had hated people so much.

Frisk began to look somewhat sad as they were told of Asriel's childhood friend.

Frisk wouldn't speak a word of what they had learned in Alphys' True Lab. Not a word about Chara poisoning Asgore as a joke, or making Asriel cry. The one thing that scared Frisk the most though, was of learning that Chara had poisoned themselves to allow Asriel to absorb their soul. Chara had wanted to destroy humans so badly, that Chara had killed them self, and tried to use their adopted sibling to do it.

Asriel began to worry that Frisk was thinking that he was comparing the two of them, and quickly made amends to his statement.

"You're nothing like them though." Asriel reassured Frisk with a small smile.

Frisk realized that Asriel may have been taking their expression the wrong way, and quickly nodded to tell him he knew so.

"Even if you two do… Dress similarily..." Asriel gave a quiet laugh. His expression, however, grew serious once more. Asriel sat up, and watched as Frisk did the same. "I-I don't know why I kept calling you by _their_ name… I know that you aren't them… I guess I… I just wanted to see them one more time..."

Frisk reached towards Asriel once more, and took hold of his hand. Asriel looked down at the meaningful gesture, cupping his other hand around Frisk's as he looked at the human.

"Frisk… You're…" Asriel sniffled a little, his eyes beginning to water up once more. "You're the kind of friend I wish I had before…" A single tear leaked from his eye, wetting the fur on his cheek.

Asriel released Frisk's hand to wipe the tear away, when he noticed a smear of red on his hand. Asriel held up his hand to look closer. Realizing that he didn't have any form of external injury, Asriel immediately turned towards Frisk.

Frisk immediately apologized for staining Asriel's fur. Frisk looked at their hands, which had only one or two deep cuts, before placing them on their pants.

"Frisk! You're hurt!" Asriel began to panic. He already felt bad for trying to kill Frisk once. If Asriel didn't do anything about Frisk's injury, he would feel even worse.

Frisk protested, insisting that it was just a small cut, and that it would heal by itself over time.

"No." Asriel said. His expression looked an awful lot like his mother's expression when she was worried. Asriel ignored the human's protests. "Give me your hands." Asriel said politely, although he wasn't giving Frisk a choice on the matter.

Frisk reluctantly turned their hands palm up, a flush of shame coming into their cheeks. Frisk hadn't realized that their hands were bleeding _that_ much.

Asriel took his hands and placed them over Frisk's. Asriel began using some of his left over souls energy to heal Frisk's wounds.

Frisk immediately realized what was happening, and yanked their hands back. Frisk stared in horror at their hands as the small cuts began to stitch them self shut, the scraped off layer of skin reforming quickly.

"There…" Asriel sounded tired, as if he had just gone for a run. He slumped backwards slightly, a numbing feeling coming to his fingers and toes.

Was this it?

Was this where Asriel would revert into Flowey?

Frisk called Asriel an idiot for wasting his own precious time to heal a cut that wasn't even that bad.

"It's not a waste…" Asriel smiled. "If it's for someone I care about…"

Frisk wasn't sure how much time Asriel had left, but Frisk knew for sure that Asriel's last minutes wouldn't be spent fighting with them. Frisk asked where Asriel had learned healing magic.

"My mom showed me." Asriel said proudly, a smile returning to his face. He didn't seem as tired anymore. "I'm… Not the best, but I do try."

Frisk thought about what Asriel's mother had shown them as well.

Thinking for themselves, patience, friendship, and helping your friends. However, one lesson stood out above the others.

Never give up on someone.

Toriel hadn't given up on Frisk, so Frisk wouldn't give up on Asriel!

Frisk opened their inventory (Frisk had decided it was some magical pocket dimension) and removed the Bisicle. Frisk split in half, offering one side to Asriel, a quick smile flashing on their face.

"Frisk..." Asriel smiled, grabbing the stick of the Unisicle (one half of the Bisicle). "My mom says these aren't really good for you." Frisk could imagine Toriel saying that, and then offering then a slice of snail pie. "But… Today's a special day. I guess I can make an exception."

Frisk and Asriel ate their food in silence. Asriel only thought of the food item as an offer of friendship. Frisk thought of it as a way to get some more time.

The tingling sensation in Asriel's fingers and toes faded, replaced with a warmth that filled their body. Monster food really was neat.

Asriel began speaking again, but Frisk was only listening to half of it.

"I was born in the Underground." Asriel stated. "I didn't see the sun until… Well..." Asriel began playing with the Popsicle stick he had cleaned off. It vaporized, leaving Asriel slightly disappointed. "Until Chara died."

"It was actually a nice day out there. The sun was just setting, and the moon was coming out from behind a mountain. The skies were pink and purple. There were birds that flew over my head, twittering without a care…" Asriel described the day, a wistful look in his eyes. "I… I want to see that again."

Asriel described the rest of the day to Frisk. Asriel spoke of how Chara had taken their own body, and left the Underground. How Chara had been the one to set their body in the flowers, and how Chara had been the one that wanted to use their full power to kill the humans. Asriel had been the one that fought against Chara, resisting the overwhelming urge to slaughter them all. Asriel had been the one to take the brutal attacks from the humans, refusing to attack, even though he had the power to kill them all.

Asriel had held onto his friends dead body as he was beaten, and finally, after the humans relented, seeing that Asriel was still standing… He picked up the body… and walked away.

Asriel walked all the way home, back through the barrier, and into the garden. Asriel's body up until that point, was being held together through sheer determination. Now that Asriel was home… He let go…

That was the last thing he remembered before… Asriel didn't want to talk about it after that.

"You really should be going now..." Asriel sighed, a sad smile creeping onto his face. He could feel his fingers and toes becoming numb again. "J-just… If you see… me again, please don't think of it as me." Asriel gave a sad sigh as he stood up, before turning around to help Frisk to their feet as well. "Remember me as..." Asriel paused, his eyes becoming watery. "Am… Am I your friend, Frisk?"

Frisk nodded immediately, making Asriel smile.

"Aww..." Asriel sniffled, his eyes beginning to water. "Thanks, Frisk. You're… You're my friend too."

Although Frisk was composed and looked calm on the outside, inside they were panicking. They were running out of time, and they knew it.

"Frisk… Please realize that there a lot of people out there like Flowey..." Asriel began. They both really hated goodbyes. "Soulless and think of the worst in everything. Sometimes… Sometimes it's just better to leave than trying to talk to them. You… You can't s _-save_ them..." Asriel's voice trembled, tears beginning to run freely down his face. "Don't kill, a-and don't… Don't b-be killed, a-alright?"

Asriel looked like he really didn't want Frisk to go. Frisk didn't want to go either. Asriel turned around, his back to Frisk as he began to cry.

Frisk quietly walked up to Asriel, and rested a hand on his shoulder. Asriel gave a surprised sniff, and turned around, only to be wrapped up in a warm hug by Frisk.

Asriel hesitated, afraid of harming Frisk, before finally giving in and hugging them back. Asriel cried into Frisk's shoulder, trying and failing miserably to stifle the flow of tears.

Frisk felt choked up. They had failed Asriel. Frisk hadn't been able to think of a single way to save him. Frisk felt as if their heart was being ripped in half. Their eyes watered up as well, and-

Wait…

Ripped in half…

Frisk had an idea! Frisk thought that maybe they could share their soul with Asriel, neither of them would have to go.

Frisk focused power on their soul, still hugging the crying Asriel, and thought about dividing it into two equal portions.

Nothing happened.

"H-hey..." Asriel began, sniffling quietly. "W-where did you get this necklace…?" Frisk tensed up, not knowing if Asriel would be mad at them. "I… I tried looking for it before I came down here, but it was gone..."

Frisk tried to apologize, but Asriel interrupted them.

"I… I was going to give it to you…" Asriel pulled back a little, and smiled. "I already have one like it." He wiped a tear away, and reached into the collar of his shirt to remove a similar looking, heart shaped necklace, with the words 'Best Friends Forever' on the locket. "M-maybe… You'll remember my by it… And s-always have me b-by your side..."

The set Asriel off again. This time, Frisk cried too. This surprised Asriel, but he just hugged Frisk tighter.

Frisk focused on splitting their soul with Asriel, putting all of their concentration into breaking it right down the middle.

Frisk gave a small sound of pain, as a tiny fracture ran across the surface of their soul. A straight line, running right to the bottom of it. The fracture hurt a lot, more so than when Frisk had died when fighting Flowey.

Asriel startled at the small sound, but refused to release the hug.

"I-I don't want to l-let go…" Asriel admitted into Frisk's shoulder. " _I_ …" Asriel's voice cracked once more. "I'm so s-scared!" Asriel bawled.

Frisk threw everything they had into splitting their soul. All of their determination, hopes, dreams, love, and worry. Their desperation, and their fears. Worry and sacrifice.

Besides, everyone would probably be more happy to see Asriel return home, than care about one human when there were close to eight **billion** (8,000,000,000) on the surface.

One human wouldn't be missed if anything went wrong.

A white hot pain seared through Frisk. It felt as if their entire body was being ripped in half from the inside.

Asriel suddenly let go of Frisk as they screamed. Asriel began to panic, not at all sure why Frisk was crying out.

The sound was torn from Frisk's throat, and they felt their consciousness fading. Frisk weakly struggled, their chest glowing red for a moment before darkness took them. Frisk collapsed to the ground, falling onto the bed of springy golden flowers.

Asriel was paralyzed. Frisk hadn't made anything louder than a simple greeting when they had been fighting. Even when Asriel had used his full power to try to stop Frisk, they hadn't cried out in pain as their soul was being destroyed.

But this terrified Asriel.

"Frisk!" Asriel shouted, dropping to his knees and cradling their head in one hand. "Frisk, can you hear me!?" Asriel turned away from Frisk for half a second. "Someone help!"

But nobody came.

Asriel placed his ear against Frisk's chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat.

A sudden red glow made Asriel's blood run cold. Asriel sat up slowly, watching in horror as Frisk's soul floated up out of their body. It floated for a moment, making Asriel anxious.

And snapped in two.

"Frisk!" Asriel cried, his heart aching. He began to sob, another friend of his lost. "I'm so sorry!"

But the soul stayed in tact. Two floating pieces, each moving around, independent of each other. One was gradually floating towards Asriel, while the other…

Dropped back into Frisk.

Asriel noticed the strange behavior, calming himself down just enough. He snuffled, and tried to push the other half of Frisk's soul back into their body.

It refused.

The soul stuck to Asriel's palm.

Asriel began panicking again, and tried to shake it off. The soul melted into his palm, and vanished.

Asriel felt a warm sensation running through him, something he hadn't felt since he was younger.

He had a soul.

Asriel could feel the numbness of his hands fading away, leaving him feeling whole once again. Asriel realized that Frisk had done this intentionally, and gently hugged Frisk's limp body.

"Thank you, Frisk." Asriel sniffled, cradling Frisk's head in one hand. He pressed his cheek against theirs, a happy feeling running through them.

Asriel could still feel Frisk's soul, indicating that they were alive. Asriel gave a relieved breath, and looked down at Frisk with watery eyes.

"Why did you do that?" Asriel wondered aloud, his eyes watering again.

Asriel realized that Frisk was still unconscious. He wanted to call for help, but realized that no one was around to hear him. Asriel recalled a smaller house that looked identical to the one he had lived in previously. It was getting late, and the small cavern was becoming colder.

Asriel looked at Frisk, filling with determination.

He knelt down next to Frisk, and wrapped his arms around them. Asriel tried to lift Frisk, but failed, laying them back down on the golden flowers.

With a huff, Asriel tried again. He managed to lift Frisk up a small amount. Eventually, he settled for half-carrying frisk, allowing their feet to drag along the ground.

"You're heavy." Asriel groaned as he took several steps towards the exit of the room. He paused, realizing that what he said could be considered rude. "N-not like that, I mean."

Asriel was too worried about moving Frisk to see the figure standing in the corner. It's left eye was glowing a bright yellow, a faint blue glow radiating from them. It watched Asriel drag Frisk through the arch, wondering if he should kill the monster child, or wait until Frisk was safe.

They decided to wait. Turning around, they took a single step towards the wall...

And vanished.

...

 _ **Authors Note**_

 _ **So, that concludes chapter 1. I whipped this up in about 5-7 days of non stop typing. Honestly, I want to write more, but I'm going to do more Graveyard Shift before this.**_

 _ **Anyways, what did you think? Let me know in the reviews.**_

 _ **Thanks**_

 _ **InfamousVenous**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**SCREW IT! I love this too much to switch gears at just one chapter.**_

 _ **Also, I didn't realize that the whole Asriel scene was similar to**_ _ **Kindred Spirits**_ _ **by quillsparks. I honestly didn't read it until after I published the first chapter! I promise I'm not copying anything! Sorry!**_

 _ **Something about copyright in the first chapter...**_

 _ **Also, you may want to listen to the song "Fade Away" by Mandopony. It is a wonderful Undertale song, and makes my eyes water whenever I hear it.**_

 _ **I haven't wanted to write this badly in a long time. I really hope this feeling doesn't go away. I get excited and giddy when thinking about writing more. I think I can take a little while away from FNAF to write this and then go back to it. Sorry everyone who wants more FNAF. You're gonna have to wait a little bit longer.**_ _ **By that, I mean a few weeks because that's the next chapter I'll be working on. Or at least… I hope so… I dunno. I'm kinda FNAF-ed out. I kinda lost interest in it after the 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **game. It kind of lost all its appeal to me after that, and sorta… died? Not sure. Do you all want me to continue with the FNAF story, or just leave it where it's at? I'll leave that up to you, because I don't trust myself with that.**_

 _ **I ship so many character in this... Ugh! So many possibilities! Help me I'm lost i**_ _ **n a**_ _ **sea of ships! ...Haha, geddit? "See? Laughs! Dad was wrong!"**_

Asriel didn't have too much of a difficult time moving Frisk. The longer he used his body, the easier it seemed to get, as if he were relearning how to move.

Of course, the decreased difficulty of the task didn't help when it came to the challenges Asriel faced when moving Frisk.

Such as a flight of stairs.

Asriel took it one step at a time… literally. He climbed up one step, then lifted Frisk's body up to even it out, propping Frisk on their feet before starting again. He had several close calls with Frisk, and by the time they had both made it to the top of the stairs, he needed to take a break. He was breathing quickly, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

He half carried Frisk towards the closest wall. Asriel carefully set Frisk back against the wall, before sitting down beside them. He gently laid Frisk down, using his legs as a support for their head.

Asriel sat with his back against a purple wall, Frisk's head laying on his lap as he breathed quickly. He was holding Frisk's hand with one of his own, gently rubbing over their fingers with his thumb.

"I… I guess I should have learned blue magic from Papyrus and Sans when I had the chance..." Asriel half laughed to himself, scratching at one of his head. "I'm going to miss those guys..."

Frisk was getting a little more colour back, although they were still out cold. Their breathing seemed to be normal, for a human.

The music echoing around the ruins was peaceful, helping Asriel relax a small bit. He had no idea where the music came from, other than the fact that it was some sort of magic that existed in almost every area of the Underground. He briefly wondered if the surface would have music like that as well, before pushing the thought from his mind.

Asriel would help Frisk recover from whatever they had done to themselves, and then the two would part ways. He couldn't see his family. Not after what he had done...

Looking down at their fallen friend… Asriel became filled with determination. He stood back up, ignoring the pain in his body, and gently laid the human's head on the purple rock floor.

Asriel turned to face the giant purple doors once again, the first time had been coming to this area. Frisk must have closed them on their way here. He pushed them open, and walked back towards Frisk.

Asriel lifted up Frisk by their armpits, and dragged them through the open door way.

He didn't have too much difficulty moving Frisk now. Although he still couldn't pick them up, he was moving along at a much faster pace now.

Asriel moved through the next room with little difficulty, but made sure to readjust his grip on Frisk before they crossed the small wooden bridges. He glanced at the bright yellow markings on the wall. There were too small to read from this far, but he was fairly sure they wasn't too important.

They had gone for only two rooms before Asriel needed to take a break again. He felt disappointed in himself for being so weak.

Asriel had to take another break beside the Dummy. It glared at Asriel and Frisk for a moment, before returning to its statue like state.

Frisk made a small noise from where they were sitting beside Asriel. He perked up, and turned towards his injured human friend. He was looking eagerly at them, hoping to see them to start waking up.

Nothing else happened.

"You'll be alright, Frisk." Asriel sighed, patting their friends hand gently. "I promise you'll be okay."

"Ugh! Get a room!" The Dummy shouted. Asriel let out a startled yelp, throwing himself between Frisk and the Dummy.

Asriel watched as the Dummy floated upwards and through the roof; there was writing on bottom of the Dummy's pedestal, which read, "lol, nope!" in a funny, generic font… Comic Sans…

Asriel held his hand against his chest, his heart beating madly. He let out a sigh of relief, and leaned backwards to rest against the purple brick wall.

Asriel relaxed against the wall, leaning his head back to look at the roof of the room. This was the first time in a long while that Asriel felt something. It made him ecstatic, and terrified all at once.

Even if the feeling was "exhausted".

Asriel was tired, both emotionally and physically. Today has been long for both him and Frisk. He actually felt a little bad for Frisk.

In one day, Frisk had fallen into the Underground, fought hundreds of monsters without dying… That he knew of… Made friends of many of the monsters that had tried to kill them, and fought with Asriel not once, but twice. One of those times, he was Flowey, but he still felt terrible about it.

Frisk had done all that, and taken down the barrier. All without stopping to sleep for a moment. Not even a nap.

Asriel could understand why Frisk was still out cold.

He turned his head towards Frisk, noticing them shivering slightly in their sleep. It wasn't cold in the top at all, other than the floor beneath them.

Asriel vaguely remembered his mother holding her hand against… Their other humans friend's forehead to check for some kind of sickness.

Asriel took his wrist, and pressed it gently against Frisk's forehead. It was abnormally warm. Asriel wracked his brain to think of what his mom had done to cure Ch- …the other human child. He remembered the human child being bed ridden for several days, fed warm soup and wrapped in layers of blankets.

Asriel had none of those things…

Asriel did, however, have magic. Fire magic. He concentrated on making a small, controlled ball of warmth. He closed his eyes, and envisioned the ball of fire in his hand. He imagined a small park igniting, and a flame jumping to life, dancing around in his palm.

Asriel have an excited gasp as he felt his hand warm up. He opened his eyes, and floating in his hand was a small, blue fireball, similar to his mothers. It wasn't hot, but radiated warmth. Asriel could feel the drain of magic affecting him, taking more of his energy away.

He willed the fireball to float a small distance away, resting by their feet on the purple rock floor. Asriel wiggled his toes at the fire, trying to feel any difference in warmth.

The air around the two grew warmer, until Asriel felt like he was laying in front of a fireplace. He smiled at that memory, remembering drawing pictures with…

Asriel shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his mind.

"Stop thinking about them." Asriel whispered to himself, frowning. "They're gone… And Frisk needs my help." Asriel faced Frisk again. He shifted over, and placed himself right beside them, resting Frisk's head on his shoulder. He wasn't worried about catching any sickness Frisk might have. Monsters didn't get sick unless they were poisoned, or decided their time had come.

"Goodnight, Frisk." Asriel whispered, resting his head on Frisk's. "Thank you... For everything." He closed his eyes, focusing on Frisk's calm, even breathing, and the soothing music of the ruins.

 **~{o}~{o}~**

Asriel was having rather pleasant dream. He was running through grassy hills, dotted with golden flowers, playing tag with Frisk in the afternoon sun.

Asriel was it. He chased the human child with an extreme amount of determination. The two were laughing as Frisk waited for Asriel, and then suddenly darted out of the way, causing him to shoot past Frisk.

"Hey!" Asriel exclaimed, laughing as he bolted after Frisk again. "Get back here!"

Frisk replied to his call by standing still once more, sticking their tongue out at him. Asriel laughed at the challenge, and charged Frisk once again.

This time, Asriel was watching the human's feet. They were pointed slightly to the right as they stood. Asriel was ready this time.

When Asriel came within a certain distance, Frisk jumped to the right, a grin plastered to their face. Asriel anticipated the jump, and ran to the side as well.

Asriel jumped forwards, overestimating his leap, and crashed into a wide-eyed Frisk. They both tumbled to the grassy hill, Asriel laughing happily.

"Are you alright, Frisk?" Asriel asked laying on the grassy hill beside Frisk, shaking his head. He began giggling, briefly recalling the expression Frisk had made. "Wow. I guess you didn't expect that."

Asriel stood up and brushed off his shirt and pants of the grass blades that were clinging to him. He offered his hand to Frisk, who was still laying on the grassy hillside. He was worried that they still weren't moving.

"Hey..." Asriel began feeling guilty about pushing Frisk, even if it was an accident. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you..." He crouched down beside Frisk, hesitant to touch them. "Are… are you alright?" He grabbed Frisk's shoulder, and gently rolled them over, looking around quickly to see if any adult was nearby to help.

Asriel stifled a cry, slapping his hand over his mouth. Frisk's eyes were a bloody red, a sinister grin spread across their face. Looking down, he gaped in horror at the large, sizzling crater in Frisk's chest, blue flames lapping at their clothing. Blood was running through Frisk's fingers as they tried to hold their bodily fluids inside of them.

" **YOU DID THIS."**

"N-no!" Asriel pulled Frisk towards them, tears running down both their faces. "I-I didn't-"

" **YOU WANTED MY SOUL."**

A red glow formed inside of the crater in Frisk's chest. Their soul formed, floating up and away from their body.

" **SAVE ME."**

The sky darkened, and the clouds became a bloody red. All noise in the hills stopped. The grass became tinted in a bloody hue, as if a slaughter had occurred in the field.

The red soul floated towards Asriel, as if being pulled towards him. It turned into a fine, red powder, and vanished into his chest. Suddenly, Asriel's head was filled with shouts and screams. A sharp pain stabbed his chest, his green and yellow shirt was becoming stained with red.

" **SAVE ME!"**

" **HELP ME!"  
**

" **YOU KILLED ME!"**

 **"YOU WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN!"**

" **MURDERER!"**

" **MONSTER!"**

Asriel couldn't think coherent thoughts. He clutched his head, screaming in agony as the voices became louder.

 **"SAVE ME! HELP ME! HELP ME! SAVE ME! SAVE ME! HELP ME! SAVE ME! SAVE ME! HELP ME! SAVE ME! HELP ME! HELP ME! SAVE ME! SAVE ME! HELP ME! HELP ME! SAVE ME! SAVE ME! SAVE ME!"**

 **~{o}~{o}~**

Asriel jolted awake. He held a hand to his chest, breathing quickly. He immediately turned to the side, making sure that the dream wasn't real. Frisk was hugging Asriel's arm, their face buried into his shoulder as they rested peacefully.

Their face didn't seem as flushed anymore, which relieved Asriel. They weren't shivering anymore; another good thing.

The air was still at a comfortably warm temperature around them. Asriel glanced at the middle of the room. His blue fireball was still floating gently above the ground, warming the room. The magic fireball was the only source of light at the moment. The magic that had been lighting the area earlier had faded, leaving a dim glow to everything; the music was quieter as well.

Frisk's pocket began ringing loudly. Asriel nearly jumped out of his skin, and Frisk mumbled something in their sleep. Asriel tried to move as little as possible while reaching into Frisk's pocket for their phone, trying to silence it.

With determination, and more than a little luck, he managed to maneuver the rather strange looking phone from Frisk's pocket without waking them, although Frisk was shuffling around a little more now.

Asriel blinked, trying to adjust his eyes to the bright phone screen. Even though he was wide awake, his mind was still half asleep. He answered the call, and brought the phone to his ear.

A shockingly familiar voice was on the other end of the call.

"Hello, my child." Toriel greeted innocently, with absolutely no idea of who was on the other end. "You have been gone an awfully long time. Are you alright?"

Asriel felt memories slamming into him like a brick wall. He let the phone slip from his grasp, stifling a gasp with his fluffy hand. The phone clattered to the floor, spinning in several circles before sliding to a stop. The blue fireball Asriel had cast flared brightly, before dimming once more.

He couldn't stop the flow of tears as he remembered his mother with shocking clarity. Every pie they had baked, every book she read with Asriel. Every game they played together, and every trip to the store to purchase more food.

"Hello?" Toriel's voice was barely audible from the phone on the ground. "Are you there?"

Asriel knew he couldn't speak with his mother. Never again. It was something he had come to accept down here in the ruins. But hearing his mothers voice... So near, yet so far.

Asriel grabbed for the phone before Toriel could become worried. He ended the call with her, trying to keep quiet enough to allow Frisk to sleep. He shakily went to the area of the phone where Frisk's texts would be. Asriel felt bad for going through their phone, but it was important. He wiped his eyes, blinking them clear enough so he could read the texts.

"S-Sorry..." Asriel snuffled, reading while he was typing. "I-I dropped the phone..." His thumb hovered over the send button, wondering if he should send the message, or try to wake Frisk to do it. He wasn't sure he could handle this.

Asriel decided to play it safe. He scrolled upwards through the texts, and found... Nothing. Frisk hadn't sent a single reply to any texts they had received... Which meant that his mother wouldn't know how they would message them back.

He decided to modify the message a little. Short, and to the point, much like Frisk's speaking... Not that they too much of that either. He pressed the send button, nervously waiting for a reply. He wiped his eyes free of tears once more.

Asriel was so focused on the device in front of him, that he didn't notice Frisk waking up. They began to blink, trying to focus on the bright light before them. The phone screen came into focus, as did the ball of blue fire much like Toriel's near their feet. Two pairs of feet.

Frisk looked up at who was beside them, finding Asriel holding their phone, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Asriel startled out of his frozen position, waiting for the message when Frisk asked him if he was alright.

"Frisk!" Asriel exclaimed, nearly dropping the phone in his excitement. "You're okay!" He gave a happy cry, and wrapped himself around Frisk, squeezing them tightly... A little too tightly. Frisk made a pained sound, causing Asriel to loosen his grip... Just a little.

"You big dummy!" Asriel suddenly shouted, letting go of Frisk for a moment. Frisk looked confused, and more than a little hurt at his words. "Why would you do that!?" He noticed the hurt look in his friends eyes, and lowered his volume a bit. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Frisk nodded, indicating that they could tell Asriel had been worried. Frisk asked what had happened. They couldn't remember anything after feeling that... That terrible pain.

Frisk's voice was quieter than usual, and Asriel could tell that they were still in a lot of pain.

He explained what had happened after they had passed out. About their soul behaving strangely, and splitting in half, with Asriel absorbing half of it. He told them about carrying them through the... four rooms of the ruins. Of course, he explained that the ruins were harder to traverse while carrying someone. Asriel notified Frisk of the Dummy that had been here, and the magic fireball he was pretty proud of.

The blue fireball flared brightly whenever Asriel's emotions spiked. When he had noticed Frisk being okay, the ball had become so bright that it had nearly looked like daylight in the room. It was slowly fading now, but still provided more than enough light to see the entire room.

The phone the two had forgotten about made a loud _ping_ , notifying the two of a new text message. Asriel suddenly looked panicked.

"I-I can't talk to her..." He began, looking nervously at the phone. "She... She'll know it's me..." Asriel's eyes began to water up again. "I can't go back to them. Not after... After the terrible things I did..." He reached forwards with shaking hands, and grabbed the phone, holding it out desperately towards Frisk.

"I'm a terrible person..." Asriel spoke in a hushed voice, as if he were afraid of someone overhearing him. "I d-don't know why you gave me half your soul..." He took a breath. "I... I'm not even worth one hundredth of a soul, l-let alone yours…"

Frisk reassured Asriel that he was worth just as much as anyone else, if not even more for the things he had to go through. Asriel tried to protest, but Frisk placed their hand over his mouth, surprising him enough for him to forget about doing so.

Frisk removed their hand from Asriel's face, and began typing on the phone. Asriel leaned over to read what was being said.

" _Where are you currently?"_ Toriel asked. Asriel could feel his heart racing faster as Frisk typed a reply.

" _The ruins."_ Frisk messaged. Asriel looked nervously at his friend, but trusted them to do whatever they needed to.

" _All the way back there!?"_ Toriel replied, her shock and worry seeming to transcend all barriers. _"Goodness. Do you want me to send someone to get you? That's an awfully long walk to make by yourself. Especially at night."_

" _I'm with-"_ Frisk paused in their typing to glance at Asriel. He shook his head frantically, wondering if they would actually tell Toriel. Frisk understood, and continued to type. "-a _friend. Sorry to keep you waiting."_ That was the longest message so far!

" _It's no problem, my child! We are currently inside of… The King's household."_ Asriel didn't seem to notice Frisk tensing up. They wondered if he knew about their parents break up. _"Take as much time as you need, we will wait for you."_

" _Thanks."_ Frisk turned off the phone, and placed it in their pocket… Or as much as the bulky phone could fit.

"Thank you, Frisk." Asriel breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't noticed before, but his entire body had been tensed up. He was holding onto Frisk's shoulder. The two of them noticed this at the same time, and Asriel immediately let go, giving a small smile. "You… You don't know how difficult that was for me. I really appreciate it."

Frisk nodded their understanding, telling him that they completely understood his parental problems. Before Asriel could inquire about what they had meant, Frisk began trying to stand up.

Frisk felt woozy, but tried not to show it. It was more difficult standing than they remembered it to be. With one hand bracing themselves against the brick wall, they forced themselves up with sheer determination, gritting their teeth through the pain shooting down their legs and back.

"H-Hey, hang on!" Asriel jumped to his feet, and tried to steady the wobbly Frisk. With a small stumble, the two of them were standing. "You just passed out back there! I'm not going to let you hurt yourself again."

Frisk shot Asriel a thankful smile. He grinned back. The fireball fluctuated again, catching both their attention.

Asriel pondered for a moment, wondering if he could use the fireball as a moving source of light. He focused on the fireball, imagining it coming to float a small ways above his head.

Through closed eyelids, he could feel the magic fire drifting towards him, moving upwards and towards the targeted destination. He tried to lower the temperature of the fireball so he wouldn't cook the two of them, while retaining the same brightness. Asriel felt a smile grow as the heat on his head reduced.

Finally, he opened his eyes, and looked up. Floating several inches above his head was the blue fireball, glowing brightly. He glanced over at Frisk, who eyed the fireball, before looking at him and smiling proudly. The fireball flared brightly again for a moment.

"Come on." Asriel said, stepping closer to Frisk. He took their arm, and put it around his shoulders, taking some of the weight for Frisk.

The two of them began walking forwards, somewhat awkwardly. Frisk was barely keeping from toppling over, and Asriel wasn't faring too much better. He was wondering how the two of them would possibly make it to the house, when an idea suddenly came to mind.

"Hang on a second." Asriel told Frisk, coming to a stop. They glanced curiously at him as he removed their arm from his shoulders, and came to stand in front of Frisk. "I can carry you on my back." Asriel turned around, back facing Frisk, and crouched in front of them.

Frisk protested, telling him that they would be alright to walk by themselves. They tried to demonstrate by taking a wobbly step forwards. Their legs buckled under them, leading them to only succeed in collapsing onto Asriel. He managed to stay upright, giving a small grunt at the sudden weight on his back. Without a word of warning, Asriel grabbed Frisk's arms and forced himself to his feet.

Frisk gave a sound of surprise as the ground dropped out from under their feet. They suddenly gripped tightly around Asriel's neck, their legs locking around his midsection. Frisk suddenly felt sick, a numb feeling spreading from their stomach outwards.

"Augh!" He gasped. "F-Frisk! Can't breathe!"

Frisk immediately apologized, releasing their grip around his neck just enough to allow airflow once again. He thanked them for letting go.

"Are you alright up there?" Asriel asked, giving a small hop to readjust Frisk's seating on his back. His ears flopped upwards a little, making Frisk smile, and relax their grip on him just a little. Asriel looped his arms around Frisk's legs, completely securing them.

Frisk gave him an affirmative, keeping their discomfort to themselves. Frisk and heights didn't mix well. Secure things underneath their feet, like bridges, were fine. It was the feeling of floating that made them nervous.

To take their attention from their fear, Frisk looked upwards at the fireball hovering just in front of their face. It was radiating a small warmth, but was much brighter than real fire would be at that size.

The two of them began their trek once more, at a much faster pace than they had originally started. Everything was coming to Asriel a little easier now, such as carrying Frisk, and magic. He had tried to use magic when he had first entered the ruins earlier that day, but had been unable to. He guessed it took some getting used to.

They exited the room, the way lit by the blue fireball Asriel had conjured. He wasn't feeling the drain of magic much, which made him feel a little giddy. The fireball flared up in response to his emotions, glowing brighter than before.

Asriel remembered the layout of the Ruins from when he had entered the area. His had began to fade just at the entrance to the Ruins, so he had walked the entire way to conserve what little reserves he had left.

But now… Now he was left trying to recall the traps and puzzles ahead to save Frisk from any possible injury or discomfort.

Entering the next room, Asriel squinted at the pink pathway marked onto the floor of the room, illuminated by the blue fireball floating above the two. The pink markings jogged his memory, allowing Asriel to continue down the room with confidence.

They passed a sign telling them that the previous room was the solution to this room. Asriel took a pause mid-step, the silvery spikes glinting in the light of the fire. He just had to take it slowly, and they wouldn't get hurt.

It didn't help that the first time Asriel had come through this room, he had waded through the water bordering the puzzle.

The two approached the spike bridge, Frisk tightening their grip on Asriel a small amount, though not enough to cause discomfort.

Asriel mentally prepared himself, and took the first step into the puzzle.

The spikes shot downwards, allowing both Frisk and Asriel a sigh of relief. They continued onwards, Frisk occasionally reminding him which way to turn if he became mixed up and confused.

After a few tense minutes of traversing a dark, and dangerous room, they managed to make it to the other side unscathed. Although there were several close calls due to Frisk squeezing Asriel tightly whenever a set of spiked came a little too close, causing him to stumble a little. The waist high spikes were still terrifying, even if there was a completely safe way to traverse them.

Asriel and Frisk crossed over the wooden bridge. It gave a quiet squeak as they crossed due to the combined wight of the two.

The two entered into the next room: a long hallway, where even the walls near them were difficult to see due to their distance.

Frisk asked Asriel if he was alright, or if he wanted to take a break. He declined. He was actually having fun. It reminded him of when he was a-younger-kid, being carried around on his Dad's shoulders. Only this time, he was the one carrying someone. It was nice to know that someone else was able to experience that feeling, even if said person was injured, and moving at a slow pace… On second thought…

Frisk made a startled noise as Asriel readjusted his grip on the human child by hopping to move them upwards. He stared down the hallway, not quite remembering how far the end was. He had paid little attention to it, thinking that he was never to pass through here again.

Asriel began walking forwards, setting his mind on autopilot. Left foot. Right foot. Left. Right… He was focused on much more complicated matters.

Where was he going to go once Frisk had been brought back to their friends and family. Asriel couldn't dare think of facing them again. And with the half soul Frisk had given them (a poorly thought out decision, as he described it), he wouldn't be turning back into the monster, Flowey.

But… That complicated things. Many of the Monsters were waiting for King Asgore to establish peaceful communications with the humans first, before they would leave the Underground. However, there were some that were content to live in the Underground for the rest of their lives. That would leave Asriel with few people that would know him.

Could he live the rest of his life in isolation? What about food or water? He would have to come out of hiding eventually, and then… Someone would recognize him eventually, even after hundreds of years.

Maybe he could give his half of the soul back to Frisk. He could return to being Flowey, and force himself to live out the rest of his days in the Ruins.

Asriel had no clue about how to return Frisk's soul to them, other than… Well… He didn't want to upset Frisk right when everything had seemed to turn out alright. That, and the fact that he didn't want to resort to what Chara had done.

The blue fireball that had been lighting their way was slowly growing darker, indicating that Asriel wasn't feeling great. Frisk caught this, and pondered what to do. Breaking Asriel from his thoughts seemed the best idea.

Frisk gently tapped on Asriel's shoulder, catching his attention. They must have realized he was thinking some darker thoughts, so he banished those from his mind, forcing a smile on his face.

Frisk didn't buy it. They knew that something was bugging Asriel. They couldn't pin point it though. Was it his parents? His older… "Friend?" Was it something Frisk had done? They really didn't want to think about it. Their head hurt too much, and they didn't have the energy to do so.

Deciding that making their friend happy was the best solution, Frisk gingerly grabbed one of Asriel's long, soft ears and draped it across his nose.

"Hey!" Asriel smiled at the sudden movement. He shook his head, his ears flopping back.

Frisk gave an evil grin, and took Asriel's other ear, placing it over his snout. The fur on his ear tickled his nose. Asriel laughed quietly, reaching up to move his ear back. Suddenly, Frisk grabbed his other ear and held it across his eyes, acting as a fluffy blindfold.

Asriel giggled, shaking his head to try to dislodge Frisk's hand long enough to see again. He failed. Frisk only moved their other hand to help blindfold him.

The fireball bobbing above the two flared up brightly, lighting up the long hallway enough to see the sides left and right of them.

"I can't see, Frisk!" Asriel laughed, slowly drifting to the left. Frisk told him that they knew he couldn't see, and proceeded to poke and prod at Asriel's neck. "Stop, that tickles!" He ducked downwards, and began walking faster; Frisk let out a sound of combined terror and excitement.

Asriel began moving faster down the hallway: about the speed of a jog, since he was carrying Frisk. The two were laughing madly, though one with more terror than the other at the run. The blue ball of magical fire was floating along with them, casting dancing shadows down the hall as they went.

Frisk was enjoying themselves just as much as Asriel was. However, the spasms of pain that shot through them with every sudden movement made the fun a little less pleasant. Frisk stayed quiet though. Asriel was happy, and that was more than reason enough for Frisk to smile.

 **~{o}~{o}~**

The trip across the room was much faster at their increased pace. After about a minute of "running" they were at the end of the room, with a white pillar standing just before the exit. Asriel was breathing heavily, the long run exhausting the poor monster child. However, he still had enough energy to keep going.

Both he and Frisk had large smiles, both happy to be with someone their age who treated them like a real person.

They carried on into the next room, looking at their surroundings. To the left was a sleeping Froggit, sleep croaking. Just to the side of the Froggit was another room, containing some kind of candy as the two recalled. To the South of the room were three red leaf piles, begging to be played in.

Asriel walked towards the nearest leaf pile, his legs growing sore as the rush of adrenaline began to ebb away. He turned around, backing towards the dry leaves. He released Frisk's legs, allowing father human to flop back into the leaves with a loud crinkling noise. Thankfully, the loud noise concealed Frisk's gasp of pain.

Asriel was breathing quickly as he moved to sit beside Frisk in the leaves. His heart was racing, and he placed his hand on his chest as he laid down beside Frisk. He had a goofy smile, and made a face at Frisk; they smiled in response.

The Froggit cracked open its eyes, and gave a sleepy croak. It looked at the human child for a moment, concern rising in it. The human's soul was much weaker than when it had passed by earlier. It gave a shake of its head, and it shifted to the side, before shutting its eyes once more.

Frisk gathered up some leaves in their hand, and playfully tossed them at Asriel. He smiled, shaking his head as a single leaf landed on his nose. He gave a huff, blowing the leaf away; it landed in the pile, disappearing into the mass.

The Froggit that had been sleeping in the room cast a single look at the human, before giving an exasperated croak and hopping into the previous room. Nothing was going to stop it from getting a good nights sleep. Frisk and Asriel watched it's receding form, a little bit of guilt rising in the two.

The two sat quietly for some time. They occasionally glanced at each other, or shifted around in the dry leaves. Seeing their friend finally happy after all they had been through… it filled Frisk with determination. Now was a good a time as any to save.

With a little focus, Frisk tried to save.

…

Nothing happened.

They looked curious for a moment, before trying again, a little harder. This was the first time this had happened.

…

Nothing happened.

Frisk began to worry. What would happen if Frisk died? Would they have to jump back all the way to their friends again? Frisk wasn't sure they would be able to stand going through what had happened with Asriel again.

They tried once more, harder than ever before. They could feel their soul straining to keep that point in time. It hurt, nearly as much as when they had split their soul. Frisk couldn't keep their pain hidden for long, as the pressure built. They bit down on one knuckle to keep from shouting out.

Tears began streaming down their face, blood trickling from their nose as the feeling grew. The blood and tears dripped onto the leaves below Frisk, making a quiet patter as they hit. Their chest felt as if something was trying to burst out. The only reason they continued at all was out of sheer determination... For Asriel.

Asriel was playing around with the fireball, manipulating it above him, making it form different flickering shapes in the air, such as a square, or a little flower. He was unaware of the struggling of Frisk. However, he felt a strange tugging sensation in his chest, which he shrugged off. He didn't notice the quiet sounds Frisk was making, due to their movement in the dry leaves to conceal the noise, and the quiet music of the ruins.

Finally, the pressure receded within Frisk. A magical display offering the choice to save appeared before them. Frisk wiped their face with their sleeve, trying to hide the evidence Asriel was oblivious to. Their shirt sleeve became red with their blood, forcing Frisk to hide it behind them quietly.

They saved their progress, relieved that the whole ordeal was finally over. From now on, they wouldn't save unless it was an absolute emergency.

"Hey, Frisk." Asriel had the fireball float towards the small human. "Look at this." The magic ball was in a similar shape of a soul: heart shaped. He was focusing on the magical fire, not noticing the gleam of the blood or tears, which were slowly beginning to dry.

The blue, heart shaped fireball slowly began to split down the middle, evenly and smoothly. The two half hearts floated side by side in sync. Asriel concentrated, squinting a little as he forced the flaming pieces apart. One came to rest in front of Frisk, and the other before Asriel.

"I didn't know I could do this." He finally turned towards Frisk, a proud smile displayed on his face. Frisk quickly brought up their sleeve to hide their face, but wasn't quick enough. He noticed the red streaks down their face, and the tears still running from their eyes. His smile quickly faded, replaced by worry and fear. "A-Are you alright!?" He sat up quickly, leaves shifting around.

The fireballs quickly lost their shape as Asriel's focus shifted elsewhere. They dimmed exponentially, making the room much darker. They drifted together, forming one blue fireball.

"What's wrong?" Asriel moved closer to Frisk, reaching out towards the human child. He suddenly hesitated, flashbacks of his nightmare returning to him. He swallowed nervously, before pushing past his fear, and gently grabbing Frisk's wrist, dragging it slowly away from their face. His breathing picked up at the sight of the blood, which was still running from Frisk's nose. "What happened!? Wh-What did you do!?" Blood dripped from Frisk onto their pants, creating small red stains on the legs.

He could feel the strength of Frisk's soul beginning to fade, becoming weaker and weaker with each passing moment. The only time he had felt a human soul this weak was when Chara had been…

Dying.

Frisk stuttered some sort of apology for worrying Asriel, insisting that they were fine. Asriel let go of Frisk's wrist, and quickly jumped to his feet, vaguely remembering some kind of snail flavored candy in the room to the North. Frisk instinctively flinched backwards at the sudden movement, expecting a blow to reprimand them for their actions.

"I-I'll be right back!" Asriel began, nervously looking between Frisk and the room to the North. "Just… Just stay here!" He took off, ignoring the protesting pain in his legs so soon after running while carrying Frisk. The magical blue fireball followed him out of the room, leaving Frisk in the darkness.

Frisk was feeling lightheaded, a numb feeling spreading from their chest throughout their body. They began feeling cold, even though the room was still relatively warm due to the magical fire previously there.

Suddenly, Frisk felt a kind of magical energy behind them. They were unable to see what was happening behind them, although they had the strange feeling of being watched. The magic surrounded them, feeling similar to Papyrus' blue magic, but much, much stronger.

Asriel entered the room, the sound of running water echoing around him as the waterfall splashed at the end of the small room. Upon a pillar was a bowl filled to the brim with some kind of monster candy. There was a sign displayed in front of it reading, "Take one." He reached towards the bowl, a small internal conflict making him hesitate.

The sign said one... But there wasn't much of a chance of any other people coming through here with the barrier destroyed; Frisk needed help as well.

Feeling worse than the "Scum of the Earth," he stood on his tip toes, grabbed the bowl, wheeling around and racing towards Frisk. The fireball floated after him with dedication, lighting up a slightly larger area for the time being. The light from the magic was a harsh white, as opposed to the soft colour of before.

The tingling magic vanished immediately as Asriel entered view of the room once again. The strange presence Frisk had felt before vanished without a trace.

Asriel bolted towards Frisk, holding the bowl tightly against his chest so that nothing would spill. He dropped to his knees right in front of the human, leaves crunching underneath him.

"Here, Frisk!" Asriel said quickly, taking one of the candies and pressing it into the human's hand. "Eat this, you should feel better!" Suddenly, his hopeful expression dropped. "B-but what if it's just a normal candy? Oh no…"

Frisk felt a strange itch in their throat. They tried clearing their throat, only succeeding in making it worse. Frisk raised their hand to their mouth, and coughed, trying to rid themselves of the feeling. They kept coughing, unwillingly, their throat feeling as if it were on fire. Asriel did the best he could to ease them through it, without much success.

When they had finally stopped coughing, Frisk removed their hand from their mouth. Visible in the light of the fireball were small flecks of blood in the palm of their hand. Asriel felt his blood run cold at the sight.

The two were terrified. This was a problem neither of them had heard of, let alone experienced, and with no one around… They were on their own.

Frisk took Asriel's advice, and popped the candy into their mouth. The effect was immediate. The flaming irritation in their throat was slowly soothing. The numbness in Frisk's body began to ebb away as well, feeling slowly returning to their body; the human stopped shivering.

Frisk apologized for worry Asriel, and quietly thanked him for doing what he did. They laughed nervously, and wrapped their arms around themselves, the feeling of the magical food restoring their soul to stable levels. They gave a quiet smile, worry easily evident on the human's face.

"I-I'm such an idiot!" Asriel sighed, taking one hand and placing it on his face. "I should be watching you. You only have half of your soul!" His eyes began watering. "I… I'm so sorry…" Asriel tentatively reached for Frisk, before pulling away, as if he were afraid he would harm the human.

Frisk noticed their friend's hesitation and came to realize that this situation was most likely their fault, as they had been told so many times in the past. Frisk cautiously removed their arms from around themselves, essentially lowering their barriers. Asriel had turned away from the human, the magical fireball above his head was dim, flickering in fits as if it were about to go out.

Frisk shuffled behind Asriel, ignoring the pain through their body as they moved closed to the smaller monster. They slowly reached towards his shoulder, gently resting their hand on Asriel. He tensed up immediately, before giving a shaky, watery breath and relaxing once again.

Frisk began pulling on his shoulder weakly, urging him to turn around. Asriel resisted, shaking his head in protest.

"I-I'm a terrible friend, F-Frisk..." Asriel sniffed, tucking his knees up towards his chest, and wrapping his arms around himself. "How m-many t-times have I tried to… No…" He gave a watery laugh. "The… The better question is..." He quieted a little, taking a deep breath. "How… How many t-times have you d-died… because of me?"

Frisk could count at least four separate instances where they had died to Flowey and Asriel, but those didn't count, did they? Besides, they were both still here, right?

"I-I don't deserve your forgiveness." Asriel finally turned towards Frisk, tears streaming down his face. "And… I sure don't d-deserve anything you've done for me…" He shook his head. "I… I'm a monster!" Asriel shouted.

"I'm a monster… and nothing will ever change." Asriel whispered.

Frisk refused to believe that. He really was a wonderful person that cared so much about everyone. He had been the victim of Chara and influenced by them the entire time. Nothing Asriel had done was wrong, but he didn't seem to believe that.

"I-I'll hurt everyone…" He sniffed. "Just… Just l-leave me d-down here and… b-be with your friends..."

Frisk pulled Asriel into a hug. He sat still, refusing to move. The human held Asriel gently, surrounding them with warmth and love.

"N-no, Frisk!" Asriel pleaded, his voice growing weaker. "P-Please! Y-You d-d-don't n-need m-" He finally broke down, releasing his legs and leaning forwards to hug Frisk burying his face into the humans shoulder. "I'm so s-sorry!" He cried.

Frisk could feel their shirt growing damp with Asriel's tears. They didn't mind though. Even if things looked alright on the outside, they were not always internally. Frisk knew this well. They would help Asriel get through whatever was happening, no matter what.

 **~{o}~{o}~**

It had taken a while, but Asriel had finally calmed down. He apologized to Frisk for getting their shirt wet, giggling at the absurdity of the situation they were in. Of course, they had to continue moving. Getting to the house was their first objective. Asriel had thought about leaving Frisk, allowing them to continue on their own from there.

That changed when they realized how close Frisk had come to dying.

He was determined to stick with them the rest of the journey, even if it may come to some slight… Complications. For the both of them.

Frisk had to consume another monster candy, making a face at the awful snail flavor. Asriel laughed at the face Frisk had made, making them smile in turn. Frisk did feel terrible about taking more than one, but Asriel had told them that they could have his instead, allowing the balance of one per person to remain.

With the extra boost of magical assistance from the monster food, and with the help of Asriel, Frisk had managed to get to their feet with relative ease. Asriel had insisted on carrying Frisk the rest of the way, but they had managed to convince them otherwise by walking around the room, only wincing slightly in pain. He was skeptical at first, but quickly came to the conclusion that they were indeed fine, and that crossing through the Ruins would be much faster than anticipated.

Asriel and Frisk walked out of the leaf filled room, side by side. Asriel had a small smile on his face, incredibly happy that Frisk was able to walk around again. Frisk was just happy to be alive, although the constant stinging pain in their chest wouldn't recede; they just smiled anyways, knowing that making someone smile is reason enough to do so as well.

The next room was fairly boring, consisting of two slide exits on either side of a pitfall trap. The two remembered this well, although neither were looking forward to the terrifying drop into the room below. Even with the leaves to cushion their fall, it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Frisk began to feel as if they were being watched once more. They looked around the room, but could see nothing at all, and not a sound out of place.

Asriel held out his arm, stopping the two of them just before the trap. There was no going around it, and the rest of the Ruins lay past it.

"I'll go first." Asriel told Frisk, looking back at the human for a moment before taking a small step towards the trap. Then another. And another. He nudged one of his feet on the edge of the trap, grimacing when it made a cracking noise under the light pressure. "Here goes nothing..." Asriel whispered.

He felt a sudden pressure on his left hand. Asriel looked to the side, looking at Frisk as they held hands. The human gave Asriel a look, and understanding crossed between the two.

They would do this together.

The magical blue fireball gave a flare as Asriel gently gripped Frisk's hand, a small smile creeping onto his face, and… Some strange new feeling rising withing Asriel. He couldn't place what it was, or exactly how it felt, other than warm and happy. Was this what it was like to care for someone? He had felt similar when he had been siblings with Chara, but this felt different.

Asriel cast the thought from his mind at the moment. There were more pressing matters to worry about. He wasn't sure if Frisk being able to move around properly again was a temporary effect of the monster food, or that they had finally recovered from the pain of splitting their soul… Asriel hoped it was the latter.

Frisk also felt a weird feeling due to the contact. They had never had siblings before, or anyone that has cared about them for more than a week at a time. Was this what it was like? To feel secure, and happy when they were near you?

The two took a moment, preparing for the drop. Frisk hated the feeling, and Asriel wasn't partial to the sight of ground rushing up at him that quickly.

"One." Asriel counted, drawing a breath. "Two..." He sent a quick look at Frisk, who nodded back at him. "...Three!"

The two jumped forwards at once, the grip on each other tightened as they jumped. They braced for the whooshing of air, and the feeling of falling. Just before they made contact, Frisk felt the familiar tingly feeling of magic.

…

Nothing happened.

Frisk and Asriel both opened their eyes at the same time, looking down at the trap below them. It was holding them both, surprisingly; not dropping them into the sea of leaves below. Asriel quickly dragged Frisk away from the faulty trap, and back onto solid ground. The human child could detect a faint blue glow seeping through the bottom of the trap.

"Um… But that..." Asriel looked confused to say the least. His eyebrows bunched up in confusion, and a small frown spread as he stared at the trap. He looked so much like his mother had when Frisk bored the Dummy into leaving the first time they had come here. "I don't… Okay." Asriel resigned, shrugging his shoulders. "Sure, why not?"

Frisk looked suspiciously at the trap. The tingly feeling of magic faded, and several cracks formed on the surface of the weak trap. With a loud _crack_ , the trap crumbled into the pit, falling onto the leaf pile below. The impact was hard enough to send several leaves flying upwards, landing at the edges of the trap in front of the two.

"Let's… Just go." Asriel finally said, after waiting a moment. Frisk could only agree, slightly confused about the strange behavior of the trap.

Frisk and Asriel began walking out of the room. The human child noticed that the two were still holding hands, unbeknownst to the oblivious monster child. Frisk wouldn't say anything for now.

The sight of purple was already beginning to bore the children. The Underground was filled with such wonderful colors! Why did they have to suffer like this?

The next room had an already solved pressure switch puzzle, a rock Frisk had pushed previously onto the trigger sitting in the middle of the room. A long row of spike traps ran the width of the area, making it impassible unless the puzzle was solved.

The two walked through the room at a slow pace. Frisk past directly beside the rock weighing down the pressure plate, half expecting it to jump to life and begin talking.

They hesitated for a moment before the spike traps, wondering if they would just suddenly jump out at them due to being faulty like the last trap. They took the step at the same time, eyes closed as they stepped over the hollow plates.

Surprisingly, the spikes didn't shoot out of the ground, and didn't pierce their bodies on the spot. They crossed over the trap safely, each giving their own sound of relief at still being alive. Frisk decided that they would have a word about the traps with Toriel once everyone was back together.

Asriel and Frisk crossed the room without much thought, thinking about the agonizingly long trip through the ruins. There were multiple rooms, with rotating perspectives, spikes they now had to wade through water to get past, and a variety of other areas.

Frisk felt the strange tingling of magic as they passed into the next room, a shiver running down their spine. It felt as if the magic was all around them, pressing in towards them. Asriel's expression didn't shift from the small smile he was wearing, so Frisk had no reason to believe it was something to worry about.

They crossed into the next room, which was-

Frisk and Asriel both froze, staring up at the large dark tree standing before the two, red leaves scattered underneath it. Just past tree was… Toriel's home, small and cozy looking in the large Ruins. Even with no visible light, the house emitted a warm glow that illuminated most of the cavern, and gave it a homelike feel.

The two did a double take, looking behind them, and then back at the sight before the two. The room they had just come from wasn't the same room that was through the arch. It was as if they had just teleported to the end of the Ruins, skipping the trip there.

The feeling of being watched reasserted itself into both of their minds, making the hairs on their arms rise. For Asriel, it was a little funnier because it made him look more poofy.

"L-lets just get inside…" Asriel began, nervously glancing around the room. Frisk was more than happy to agree. Although…

Feeling this close to the end of the Ruins, knowing they were only half an hour away from their friends, Frisk couldn't help but feel determined. An magical display appeared in front of Frisk, asking if they would like to save their progress.

The human sat for a moment, long enough to capture the attention of Asriel.

"What is it?" He asked quietly, as if there was another person listening into their conversation.

Frisk quickly explained that what had happened in the other room earlier was a result of them attempting to save. It had put too much strain on their soul, nearly killing Frisk. The human child asked Asriel if it would be worth it to save.

"W-what!?" He exclaimed, a little too loudly for the darkened ruins. "Are you insane!? I would gladly walk through the Ruins with you! Repeatedly if I had to! Your life is not worth skipping a short walk!"

Frisk felt warmed by his kind words, but couldn't help but wonder if they would be able to save ever again. Maybe they were all doomed to an eternal life that looped back to that point in time of Frisk ever died.

But... They couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they both attempted to save at the same moment. With half of Frisk's soul, surely Asriel would be able to save as well.

Frisk suggested this idea to the smaller monster child. A worried look crossed his features, before he looked curiously at the magical display floating before Frisk. He extinguished the magical fireball floating above his head.

"Well… I-I guess..." He began, looking slightly worried. "Besides… We always have the save you made before, right? If anything goes wrong… We _should_ end up right back there." Asriel seemed to be reassuring himself more than Frisk. "Alright, lets do it!" There was a little more enthusiasm and determination in their voice.

The two looked down at the magic save option. Frisk began to have second thoughts, not wanting to relive what had just happened to them. Asriel seemed to have the same worry, but he tried to push past it. For Frisk.

The two brought up their still intertwined hands. Asriel seemed to notice this for the first time, and looked nervously from their hands to Frisk, a light blush creeping onto his face. Frisk only smiled in response, moving their hands to be directly above the save button.

The two waited for a moment, as if silently counting down. They both held their breath as they forced their hands downwards, selecting the option to save.

Frisk felt a light tugging sensation in their chest. Asriel began to feel the strange sensation of being magically locked into time and space. Of course, as Flowey, he had been able to save and load as often as he had wanted… Until Frisk had fallen down. He was used to the feeling of saving by now. He wasn't, however, used to the emotional feeling of relief knowing that there was always a backup.

There was a gentle pulling at their souls, and then… Nothing. They had been able to save. No mishaps, or near deaths. Just a simple save.

Frisk felt over joyed knowing that their saving ability was not gone forever due to the splitting of their soul. All they needed was assistance from Asriel; neither of them could see themselves being separated any time soon.

Asriel noticed Frisk's grin, and smiled himself.

"C'mon!" Asriel laughed, feeling giddy. He began dragging Frisk towards the cozy looking purple house. Not that Frisk was moving much slower than Asriel in the first place.

 **~{o}~{o}~**

The first thing that hit them when they entered the house was the smell. It was wonderful: freshly made cinnamon and butterscotch pie, as well as the lingering smell of fire magic (it smelled lightly of a campfire), and some other smell that Frisk could not place. Asriel knew the smell though. Snails.

The sight of the house from this angle was something that gave him nostalgia. It looked like home. His home. Where he had spent a lot of time playing with his friends and family. Drawing pictures and running around outside. Where he had planned many of his great expeditions further into the Underground.

Although… That could just be a coincidence, right?

Asriel could vaguely remember another house he used to live in, just before he and his parents had moved further into the Underground. He knew that he had been in the process of packing things when they had found the first human. So why couldn't he remember? Was it because the two houses were identical?

The two were currently standing on the wooden floor in front of the closed door. The floor made a quiet squeak as the two stepped further into the house. The light brown of the floor, as well as the many other colors in the house was a relief to the children. At the top of the stairs leading downwards was a calendar marked as 201X (it was thick, taking the place of 10 separate calendars).

Asriel grew more confused as he actually thought about the house they were standing in. It was nearly identical to his own house, all the way up in "New Home" (He knew his Father wasn't great with names. For example, his own. His Mother's name, Toriel, and his Father's name, Asgore. The first two letters of his dad's name, and the last four of his mom's. As+riel. Asriel). He grew more curious as he began to explore the house, wandering to the East where the bedrooms were located.

Frisk didn't want to tell Asriel that his parents had broken up. That was a conversation for the three of them, alone. Frisk followed him, explaining the book they had found in the "Librarby" (yes, they know the sign is spelled wrong) and how it detailed the finding of "Home," which was where they were currently. Frisk suggested that the king and queen had rebuilt their home further in the Underground.

Asriel nodded, only half listening to what Frisk was saying. He stopped at the first door on the left, where his room would be located, and slowly pushed the door open. He shuffled into the room, his mind numb.

His room looked identical in some aspects, such as the dresser against the North wall, and the bed sitting close to the door. However, it was missing the other bed for…

Asriel forced himself out of his thoughts, shaking his head lightly and blinking. He turned around, noticing Frisk standing in the doorway behind him, watching him with a worried look.

"Oh… Uh, sorry, Frisk." Asriel apologized, realizing that he had wandered without them. Frisk stifled a yawn, and nodded, telling Asriel that it was alright. "I guess I kinda wandered off..."

Frisk left the doorway, and entered the red painted room. They passed Asriel, and walked towards the foot of the bed where a large toy chest was sitting. The human opened the lid to the box, and peered inside.

There were many toys, such as plastic food items, a wooden boat, bouncy balls, a large snail plushie, and several other different types of children's toys. Frisk reached in, and grabbed a bouncy ball. They signaled to Asriel, catching his attention.

"Frisk? Wha-Ah!" Asriel jumped back, clearly not expecting the ball to be bounced towards him. He managed to catch it after fumbling for a moment, nearly dropping it on the wooden floor. "You scared me!" He breathed, laughing lightly. "Hey, catch." Asriel smiled, and bounced it gently off the floor back to Frisk.

The two passed it back and forth for a few moments, becoming increasingly bored, until they decided to begin rebounding it off walls to each other. When that grew tiresome, Frisk and Asriel were already both in the mood to play. Frisk propped the toy chest open, and began handing things to Asriel, who set them neatly in the enter of the bedroom.

Soon enough, the two had constructed an imaginary battle, in which a small action figurine hero was standing on the wooden boat. The figurine had to stop the large snail plushie from eating all of the plastic food, or else the world would go hungry. The only weapon the hero had was several bouncy balls, and a small, white, annoying looking plastic dog.

Of course, both of the children wanted to be the hero. This left the evil snail extremely vulnerable to attack, so the children had to switch up. Frisk took control of the giant snail, while Asriel became the boat riding hero.

Being children, the battle that took place exploded beyond realistic limits. A giant, fire breathing snail was difficult to defeat. However, the hero's bouncing fireballs were extremely effective on the large beast. The battle was long, and drew on for about half an hour.

In the end, the hero won by using his white dog (who had been sleeping most of the battle) to absorb the large, demonic snail. Frisk came up with the ending. When Asriel had asked Frisk why they had chosen that ending, they had sleepily responded by telling him it was something that reminded them of what they had seen on their trip through the Underground.

By the time their battle had ended, both the children were exhausted, and the floor was a mess: toys scattered every where, and more than one slippery plastic fruit was hiding from their sights.

Frisk was struggling to stay awake, as was Asriel. The monster child was more hungry than tired though. He got to his feet, helping the human child to their feet as well. Frisk rubbed their eyes sleepily, and looked to the bed behind Asriel.

"You're tired too, Frisk?" Asriel yawned. He gestured towards the bed, and began shuffling out of the room. "Here, you can have the bed." When Frisk asked where Asriel was going to sleep, he responded with: "I saw a comfy looking chair when we entered. I'll sleep there."

This was out of the question to Frisk. They insisted that Asriel take the bed, while they used the chair. They tiredly bickered back and forth for less than a minute, before both grew quickly tired of the conversation.

"Why don't we both just use the bed then?" Asriel suggested. Frisk agreed, wondering why they hadn't come to the conclusion earlier. It made sense though. Asriel remembered his parents slept together; he and… The human… Had slept in each others bed whenever the other had nightmares. Actually, it was only Asriel that had ever had the nightmares. His "friend" had never had nightmares, or been scared at all, now that he thought about it. Even in death, it was like they had known it wasn't over.

Frisk gave silent approval, and climbed into the smaller bed fully clothed. The lights in the room immediately dimmed, as if it had been triggered by Frisk. The two looked around the room, squinting to see as their eyes readjusted.

"I'll be right back." Asriel yawned, tiptoeing around the toys scattered on the floor. He exited the room, closing the door with a quiet squeak, leaving it open just a crack.

Asriel shuffled down the hallway, the quiet music of the house trying to kill him to sleep. He crossed the house, and entered the kitchen area, stopping only to glance at the chair in the living room.

Asriel entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He slowly walked towards the fridge, trying to keep quiet as to not scare Frisk. He knew that noises in the middle of the night were terrifying, even if it was only an annoying white dog that had somehow entered the house.

He opened the fridge, looking for anything to eat at this point. Not eating for hundreds of years, and then having one Unisicle was not enough. The refrigerator was filled with many plastic containers, holding hundreds of snail, both living and dead. That, and a half trampled cinnamon and butterscotch pie.

Asriel reached into the fridge, and grabbed the sides of the pie container. He pulled the pie out of the fridge, and set it on the counter. Thankfully, it was already sliced, so Asriel wouldn't have to worry about knives.

There were about three larger slices of pie that were not covered in small paw prints, and white dog hair. He managed to save those, and set them on separate plates. He and Frisk could take one, and there would be one extra.

Asriel suddenly felt the strange tingling of magic he had been feeling earlier. He shivered as a chill ran down his spine. He felt as if there were a presence directly behind him.

Asriel slowly turned halfway, shaking unwillingly, feeling absolutely terrified. He could hear breathing directly behind him, in his ear. He could feel something running down his back.

" **Turn around..."**

Asriel's fur stood on end. He slowly obeyed the voice, his hands clenching so tightly his nails dug into his palm.

He turned, wide-eyed, laying his eyes upon…

Nothing.

No one was there. The powerful presence had vanished, as did the feeling of magic.

Asriel suddenly decided he wasn't so hungry anymore. He quickly turned around, abandoning the pie on the counter as he quickly walked back through the house. He speed through the house as quickly as one can while walking, while also trying not to aggravate a powerful magical being.

Asriel jumped as all the lights in the house wet off at once, throwing him into complete darkness. He couldn't even see the table that had been in front of him just moments ago. He reached his hand in front of him to try to find the table, but he couldn't find it, or even see his hand for that matter.

He took a shaky breath and closed his eyes, trying to reorient himself. He thought back to a few moments ago, remembering the path he had taken. Asriel slowly began to walk through the pitch black house, not a sound other than the shuffling of his padded feet against the polished wood floor.

his padded feet against the polished wood path he had takrn

Asriel thought he was near the front door of the house due to the increased echoing of the nose he made. Larger areas meant more echoing, and this was the largest room in the house. He briefly pondered if he should make a dash towards the bedroom.

 _BANG!_

The front door exploded inwards, swinging on its hinges and crashing into the wall beside the door frame. Light from the outside flooded the room, momentarily blinding Asriel. He covered his eyes, and blinked rapidly, trying to readjust to the light.

There was a figure standing in the doorway, completely shrouded in darkness. It didn't even acknowledge the fact the door had nearly been blown off its hinges.

" **Follow me.** " The figure commanded, taking a slight step backwards.

Asriel quickly looked between the shadowy figure, and the bedrooms of to his left. Making a split second decision, he bolted.

"FRI-" Asriel was quieted mid sentence, and frozen in place. It felt as if his limbs were locked, and there was hand clamped over his mouth. He began to struggle as his body became weightless, and began floating towards the shadowed figure; there was a small, yellow and blue light flickering in the shadows left eye.

The shadowed figure gave what sounded like a sigh, and turned around, the silenced and helpless Asriel floating along behind behind it.

 **~{o}~{o}~**

…

 _BANG!_

Frisk jolted upright in the bed, clutching the covers to their chest as their heart pounded madly. Frisk hadn't expected to have fallen asleep that quickly.

The human child began feeling terrified for absolutely no reason. There was no one around, and nothing to be afraid of. Yet, the feeling was coming from somewhere.

Frisk quietly slid out of the warmed bed, realizing that the room was dark. Not dark like it had been before, but pitch black. They blindly stumbled through the room, tripping on small, soft thing more than once. One of those times, the thing yelped and bolted under the bed.

Frisk managed to get to the door relatively unscathed, other than a sore little toe after stubbing it against the wall. They reached out, and grasped at the door handle noisily.

Frisk heard sprinting down the hallway, startling them, and keeping them from turning the door handle for a moment.

"FRI-" Asriel's shout was muffled, and the running stopped.

Frisk was terrified. Was there someone else in the house? Was Asriel in trouble? Frisk ever so slowly opened the door, peeking around the edge of the door frame down the hallway.

Asriel was floating slightly off of the ground, surrounded in a harsh glowing blue magic, which seeped through the crack in the door, illuminating the area around Frisk in a bright blue colour. He was moving backwards, towards the front door of the house. Frisk looked past Asriel, towards the shadowed figure walking out the door. A blue glow emanating from the left side of its face, and its posture seemed… slouched. Something about the shadowy figure was oddly familiar to Frisk.

Frisk felt a chill travel down their spine as they figure left the house. Asriel was turned from Frisk, so he wasn't able to see the human slowly following him, keeping to the walls of the house as they moved.

Asriel was unable to turn his body as he was locked in place with blue magic. He tried to struggle his way out of it, the thought of escaping with Frisk at the front of his mind. He tried to force the magic to break, or even fracture a little to prove that it could be broken.

It refused.

Honestly, the monster child was terrified out of his mind. Stories of kidnappings taking place in the back alley ways of the cities began creeping into his brain. Where the children were taken by humans and sold to others, most often killed by the buyers. He knew that these were just stories to keep children inside at night, and to keep them from wandering off, but that didn't stop those nightmarish dreams he had before from returning.

Asriel turned his attention towards the figure kidnapping him. It was wandering towards the left of the house, seeming to know exactly where it was going. Asriel knew this was a dead end, however, and wondered just what exactly what was going to happen.

The figure turned another corner, one that Asriel had not seen. His heart was beating madly as he floated towards the presumed dead end, unknowing of the shadows intentions.

He went around the corner, following the figure.

It was gone.

Yet, Asriel continued to move towards the rock wall of the cavern. His breathing picked up, echoing around the smaller area around him. He thought he could hear silent stepping of feet, but he couldn't be too sure. It could be any multitude of sounds at this point.

Asriel felt a hand grasp his own. His heart leaped in his chest, and he made a shriek that was muffled by the magic around him. He tried to move, to bolt back to the house and leave this place, but he couldn't

Frisk walked forwards a little faster, still holding Asriel's hand as they moved at a slightly quicker pace than the magic. The human's face came into Asriel's line of sight, and he let out a relieved sigh, the worry in his eyes fading slightly.

Frisk held one finger up the their lips, indicating that Asriel should not say a word about them, or to give any indication that there was someone else with him. Frisk could feel the fear they were feeling recede as well, comforted by the fact that they were together through what was about to come.

They continued towards the wall, no matter what Frisk did to try and slow the blue magic. However, Asriel realized that he was able to move again, if only a little. He was able to move his fingers first, followed by his wrist. The blue magic as a whole was fading, but Asriel had the ingenious plan to keep still. He wouldn't let the shadowy figure know about the weakness in the magic until there was a chance of escape.

Just before the two made contact with the wall, they noticed what seemed like a thin layer of air shimmering in front of it. It was difficult to see, unless a person had been intentionally looking for it.

The rock wall crept closer and closer. For a moment, Asriel was wondering if he would be squished against the rock.

The two began to feel the familiar tingling of magic as they came closer to the shimmering surface. Asriel closed his eyes, his fingers curling lightly around Frisk's. He braced for… Anything at that point. All of his resets, and time being Flowey could not have prepared him for this in the slightest.

The two approached the solid wall, the feeling of magic growing stronger. Asriel's fur stood on end, a strange feeling traveling down his spine. He unintentionally held his breath, preparing to be crushed.

They walked through the shimmering surface.

…

After a long pause, Asriel released the breath he had been holding, and opened his eyes. The two of them were back where they had began. A yellow bed of flowers sat in the center of the room, twilight shining on them from above. There were pillars further along in the room, almost invisible in the darkness.

The figure was standing with its back facing the two, staring directly ahead at the golden flowers.

Frisk knew that whoever that was wouldn't stay turned for long. They quickly gave Asriel a soft smile and a thumbs up before turning to the right and silently walking to a tall pillar standing beside the two. Frisk didn't want to leave Asriel to face the figure by himself, but Frisk decided that they would help him out when the time was right.

The two were scared out of their minds, but Frisk's calm exterior helped Asriel keep his composure as well. The two stayed brave together; determined together.

" **...Do you really think you've fooled me?** " The figure asked, slowly turning around. It's left eye was glowing menacingly, wisps of blue smoke floating from it. " **That you can somehow magically change who you are, just because one person said you can?** "

The figure reached upwards, still surrounded in darkness. It was if all of the shadows in the room were collecting around it, keeping it from being seen. The shadowed creature dropped its hand, and the shadows around it flicked off, revealing the character under the shadows.

It was Sans. Asriel felt his heart leap, flashbacks of the shorter skeleton slaughtering him over and over as a flower.

"…i know who you are, and what you did..." Sans spoke, looking directly at Asriel. "... _prince_ of darkness."

The magic surrounding Asriel dissipated, dropping him to the stone floor, trembling. He sat on his knees, his arms wrapped around himself.

' _Just imagine yourself as the character you used to draw.'_ Asriel told himself, taking a shaky breath. _'Asriel, The God of Hyper-Death.'_

Frisk resisted the urge to rush out from behind the pillar. To tell Sans that it was a misunderstanding, and to help out Asriel in any way possible. However, the obvious fear on Asriel's form melted away as seconds ticked by. He took a deep breath, and looked up at one of his biggest fears, getting slowly to his feet.

"listen, kid..." Sans began, watching the monster child closely. "i realize that you were no _flower_ child, but that's not why i'm here…"

Frisk shook their head at Sans' poorly times puns. This was neither the time, nor place for them. However, the tension in the room was visible, and puns seemed like they helped Sans relax a little. The two could put up with the jokes for now.

After several tense moments, Asriel swallows nervously, and asked.

"Why are you here?" The child asked nervously, still shaking, though not nearly as much as earlier. Facing your biggest fears was not easy, especially when you hadn't felt anything in so long.

"…you know why i'm here." Sans spoke darkly, nearly closing his eye sockets. He fidgeted with something in his sweater pocket, before looking up at Asriel with empty eyes. " **You killed them.** "

Asriel took a step backwards, shaking his head quickly. He discretely looked at Frisk standing behind the pillar, checking to see if they were alright. Of course, Frisk was fine, but they felt… Strange. Slightly empty without half a soul, as if realizing it for the first time. They were also concerned, for both Asriel and Sans. Frisk was worried about what Sans might do, and nervous about what could happen to Asriel as a result.

"I-I didn't!" Asriel protested, raising both hands to show that he had nothing to hide. This only proceeded to show the shorter skeleton the dried blood on his palm. "Frisk is perfectly fine!" Sans narrowed his eye sockets.

"maybe for the moment. but we both know it won't stay that way." Sans took a menacing step towards Asriel, his left eye flashing yellow for a moment. "look… i realize i'm not a great person. i can never be as loving and caring as papyrus, or as loyal as the king. hell…" Sans sighed, looking down at his pink slippers. "i've probably done worse things than many people down here. but you…" Sans have a quiet chuckle, finally making eye contact with Asriel.

" **You're the real monster."**

Asriel took another step back, nervously checking behind him for any possible route of escape. Unfortunately, there were large bleached bones barring the exit, making running an impossible option.

Asriel turned back, and yelped, jumping backwards. In the time he had turned around, Sans had moved to stand directly in front of the small child. Sans looked down at the small child, glaring.

Frisk quietly shuffled around the pillar, trying to keep out of Sans' sight. Unfortunately, their shoe scraped against the bottom of the stone structure, making a faintly audible noise. Immediately, Sans whipped his head to the right, gazing at the pillar intensely. After several moments, he turned his attention back to Asriel.

"I-I swear I d-didn't take their soul!" Asriel stammered, backing slightly further away from the skeleton. "Frisk _gave_ me part of their soul, a-and I-"

"why would they give up part of their soul for you?" Sans interrupted. He was practically radiating magic at that point, although he kept most of his rage concealed. "that's not easy to believe. especially when the two of you are covered in blood, one considerably weaker than the other. that, and the fact that…" Sans closed his eyes sockets for a moment, before opening his empty eyes once again.

"… **One of you should be dead."**

Asriel looked down in defeat, his shoulders slumping. Sans was striking some pretty raw nerves, hitting Asriel hard.

"I… I really don't understand either…" Asriel sighed, closing his eyes as they began to water. "I mean… I honestly don't know them all that well, other than that… They're kind, loving, brave, and…" Asriel took a watery breath, a tear forcing itself from his eye. "…that they will never stop trying to make everyone happy. Even if…" His voice dropped to less than a whisper, and he couldn't complete his sentence.

Frisk felt emotionally overwhelmed by his words. They had to fight back the urge to run to Asriel and hold him tightly, telling him that he was alright; tell him that he was always worth it.

Sans had moved back to the center of the room, leaving a considerable gap between the children and himself. Frisk had to move around the pillar again to keep from being spotted. The shorter skeleton softened his gaze a small amount as he looked upon the crying child.

"hey…" Sans finally spoke, shattering the silence in the room. "suck it up, buttercup." He cracked a small grin, as did Asriel, but for different reasons.

"listen… i know i can never be as cool or caring as papyrus, as strong as undyne, or as accepting and friendly as the king and queen." Sans sounded as if he were admitting something to himself, rather than Asriel. "i used to try though… until _you_ came along." At those words, Sans' glowing pupils vanished.

"W-what? But I-" Asriel was interrupted by the skeleton.

"maybe it wasn't you specifically, but i can't really take that chance." Sans told him, his grin faltering for a moment. "i still remember the first day it happened, too. or was it one of the resets? who knows now? all i can remember is an endless string of waking up on the same morning, all of the things that had happened previously taken away. anything i ever did was reset, and wasted. any hard work that i, or anyone did, was gone. do you understand?"

 **"You made me like this."**

"But I... I didn't-" Asriel's voice went silent as he realized just how badly Flowey had affected others as well. He never realized that anyone could remember what happened. How many others could remember? Did they end up the same way as Sans did? Did some of them try to kill themselves to end the loop, only to wake up once more?

"now, i have a _bone_ to pick with you." Sans' grin returned, but seemed more empty than anything. "now, normally i wouldn't care if you were here. heck, maybe i would even bring you to the king and queen. but now... well..."

The entire room was silent. Both Asriel and Frisk were holding their breath, waiting for Sans to continue. The sound of water dripping from the top of the cave onto the cold stone floor echoed throughout the room.

"you have part of the kid's soul. i made a promise to watch over them, and to keep them safe. i didn't do my part well. i was lazy, and regret it. there have been so many memories of me going to check on them, only to find them... well... you get the point." Sans had a pained look in his eye sockets. "i should have tried harder."

Frisk wasn't sure how to feel about what Sans was saying. He didn't do a terrible job helping out, although... He didn't really do much of anything now that the human thought about it. Moral support was useful too, though. That was something he did well.

"that's why i'm doing this." Sans looked Asriel dead in the eyes. "hell... i would live down here for the rest of eternity for that kid to survive. i'm sure you know they're special too."

Asriel nodded, wiping a tear from his cheek. He was looking down at his feet in shame, unable to make eye contact with the skeleton.

"so now you know why i have to do this." Sans sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets once again. "even if this doesn't work out well, and even if the kid never forgives me for this... well... at least they'll be alright in the end."

Sans' left eye began glowing a bright blue. A magical field of energy surrounded Asriel, preventing him from moving. He was visibly struggling, but with little success.

Frisk began stepping out from behind the pillar, preparing to stop Sans from harming Asriel.

"sorry about this, kid." Sans didn't seem to be talking to Asriel now. "you're too important to everyone. i can't let you go. not today. not ever."

Sans' eye flashed a brilliant yellow. Out of nowhere, an enormous, skull like weapon descended rapidly, nearly as large as Frisk. It took aim at Asriel, a blindingly bright light emanating from its mouth.

Frisk jumped out from behind the pillar, and bolted towards Asriel, a horrified feeling in their stomach. Sans wouldn't really kill someone, would he?

The weapon began charging up, the light growing brighter and brighter as it readied its attack.

Sans' eyes widened as Frisk ran in front of Asriel, his theoretical heart stopping.

"KID! WAIT!" He reached towards the child, trying to throw them out of the way with his blue magic. He couldn't get a hold of the child. Their determination was resisting the magic.

Frisk hugged Asriel tightly, calling for Sans to stop. The magic surrounding Asriel disappeared, allowing him to collapse onto Frisk, hugging the human child tightly.

"STOP!" Sans shouted, turning towards the weapon. He tried to send it away, or destroy it with his own magic.

It failed.

The magical weapon fired.

Frisk and Asriel felt their bodies go numb. A soul splitting pain shot through the two of them. Their silent screams went unheard through the ruins.

Sans was in too much shock to use his magic. He ran towards the two children, his mind numb at the realization of what he had just done. Sans felt his chest tighten when he could see the hole that had pierced through the two of them, leaving a large gap in their bodies.

"no, no, no, no, no!" Sans mumbled, dropping to his knees beside the two. He pulled the two barely conscious children onto his lap, blue tears running freely from his eye sockets. "what did i do?" He whispered.

Frisk's grip on Asriel slackened, and the monster child collapsed backwards onto the floor. The smell of blood and burning flesh permeating the air. Asriel's half of Frisk's soul floated out of his chest, hovering for a moment, before snapping into millions of shards, dissipating in a sudden breeze.

"c'mon kid! stay with me!" Sans looked helplessly at the human child, a red glow expanding across their chest. "frisk…"

Frisk gave a final breath, blood gurgling in the back of their throat. Their body stilled, and Frisk's eyes rolled into the back of their head. Asriel's body began to turn to dust and ash, some of it floating away on the breeze, the rest settling on a pile on the stone floor.

Sans sat in horror, watching as Frisk's half of the soul floated out of their body. It rose above the two, bobbing up and down in the air.

And shattered.

 _ **Author's Note**_

 _ **Hey everyone! I managed to update the end of the chapter, giving it a little more detail. Sorry that the end seemed rushed. I wanted to push it out before I went to work, and so I had to type quickly. Sorry about that.**_

 _ **Hope you have a wonderful day, and thank you all! You have no idea how much your kind words inspire me.**_


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